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.

All Stories by Susan Milius

  1. Life

    Paper wasps help out for their own good

    Behavior that appears altruistic actually benefits number one.

  2. Life

    Wasp has built-in Facebook

    An insect species with a tricky social life has a special facility for telling one bug's mug from another.

  3. Life

    A tryst, then the power to resist

    House mice in Europe got some of their tolerance for rodenticides from hybridizing with a completely different species

  4. Life

    Learnin’ lizards

    Underrated reptiles figure out what to do when the old rules change.

  5. 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.

  6. Life

    Weevils evolved nut-and-screw joint

    Insects invented hardware way back in dinosaur days.

  7. Life

    Multicellular life arises in a test tube

    A yeast experiment recapitulates a major early milestone in the history of life.

  8. 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.

  9. Life

    Marine microbes fritter away jelly bonus

    Bacterial feasts during jellyfish blooms drain valuable carbon out of the food web.

  10. Life

    Fish ignore alarming noises in acidifying seawater

    Something about changing ocean chemistry could make young clownfish behave oddly around normally alarming sounds.

  11. 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.

  12. Life

    Tarantulas shoot silk from their feet

    The unique ability may give the heavy spiders a better grip and prevent deadly falls.