All Stories by Susan Milius
- Life
DNA hints at polar bears’ Irish ancestry
Mitochondrial genetic analysis suggests a bit o’ hybridizing long ago with brown bears on the Emerald Isle.
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- Life
Multicellular life arises in a test tube
A yeast experiment recapitulates a major early milestone in the history of life.
- Life
Female infidelity may violate goose-gander parity principle
Female birds stray from their mates in part because of cheating genes from their philandering fathers, a zebra finch study suggests.
- Life
Marine microbes fritter away jelly bonus
Bacterial feasts during jellyfish blooms drain valuable carbon out of the food web.
- Life
Fish ignore alarming noises in acidifying seawater
Something about changing ocean chemistry could make young clownfish behave oddly around normally alarming sounds.
- Life
Hey kitty, dogs drink like cats
High-speed video shows that canines don’t simply scoop up water, they toss it into their mouths just like their feline frenemies.
- Life
Tarantulas shoot silk from their feet
The unique ability may give the heavy spiders a better grip and prevent deadly falls.
- Life
Numbers flap has minor implications for global extinctions
A statistical technique used to estimate rates of species disappearance is flawed, two ecologists charge — but not enough to invalidate recent dire assessments.
- Life
Daytime bites for zombie ants
The living dead of the insect world show an unexplained sense of timing: a surge of strange activity in the a.m. followed by a final death grip at midday.
- Life
New fungi the dark matter of mushrooms
Scientists see the first images of an ancient lineage of microbes that can’t be grown in the lab.
- Life
Giant ants once roamed Wyoming
The first complete fossil found in North America suggests warm spells in the far north allowed big insects to spread.
