Life sciences writer Susan Milius has been writing about botany, zoology and ecology for Science News since the last millennium. She worked at diverse publications before breaking into science writing and editing. After stints on the staffs of The Scientist, Science, International Wildlife and United Press International, she joined Science News. Three of Susan's articles have been selected to appear in editions of The Best American Science Writing.
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All Stories by Susan Milius
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Life
Fruit fly biorhythms differ indoors and out
Response to daily cues of real life suggest lab findings may need a second look.
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Life
Pesticide-dosed bees lose future royalty, way home
Unusual field tests reveal how common insecticides, even at nonfatal doses, can erode colonies and threaten the future of bumblebees and honeybees.
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Life
Industrial roar changes nearby plant reproduction
Trees and wildflowers register the effects as animals flee (or not) from grinding engines.
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Life
Mild winters may shift spread of mosquito-borne illness
By pushing insects to start biting mammals earlier in the year, warmer cold months could increase the transmission of a brain virus affecting people and horses.
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Life
Carnivores can lose sweet genes
A gene involved in taste detection has glitches in some, but not all, highly carnivorous mammals.
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Life
Sawfish don’t saw
Spiked snouts whack prey to the bottom, helping the predator better get its mouth around dinner.
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Life
After a breakup, coral embryos live on as clones
Even modest waves can break apart embryonic corals, but the bits that survive can grow into separate clones.
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Life
Sardine fishery may be in peril
Cool ocean cycle, population slide evoke collapse of Pacific resource in the late 1940s.
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Life
Old-fashioned fish regrow fins
Fish on an ancient line can regenerate lost limbs with newt-like flair, suggesting that ability was shared among ancient ancestors.
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Humans
Food exports can drain arid regions
Many dry regions ‘export’ large amounts of water in the form of agricultural products.
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Animals
Classic sooty-moth tale bolstered by new results
A scientist’s six-year backyard experiment strengthens the scenario for evolutionary changes due to industrial pollution.
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Life
Plants swap chloroplasts via grafts
The energy-converting cellular organs can pass through connections, carrying genetic material with them.