All Stories by Susan Milius
- Life
Chicken cells have strong sense of sexual identity
In birds, hormones may not be the last word in determining males and females.
- Earth
Country ants make it big in the city
Odorous house ants act like invading aliens when they discover urban living.
- Life
Rise of female weaponry driven by poop fights
Motherly fights for excrement in one species of dung beetle have favored the evolution of a special female horn.
- Plants
Losing life’s variety
2010 is the deadline set for reversing declines in biodiversity, but little has been accomplished.
- Life
Ultraviolet freckles start fish fights
Two damselfish species use short wavelengths to recognize rivals’ spots.
- Life
Bacterial neighbors get mean
Strains of the same species growing just meters apart can do a lot of damage to each other — and to themselves.
- Life
Human noise may distract animals
When boats roar, hermit crabs slip up and let predators get extra close
- Earth
Florida’s big chill may have hammered corals near shore
January cold snap caused rare wintertime coral bleaching and die-offs for Florida’s coral reefs.
- Life
For pipefish, measly Mr. Mom needs help
In species with pregnant males, females may put something extra into eggs.
- Life
Soybean genome turns out to be soysoybeanbean
The plant's newly sequenced genetic blueprint includes a surprising number of spare copies.
- Life
Sea slug steals genes for greens, makes chlorophyll like a plant
A sea slug, long known as a kidnapper of algal biochemistry, can make its own supply of a key photosynthetic compound.
-
Milius versus the bed bugs
Science News writer Susan Milius experiences the perils of knowing what bed bug scientists do in their own hotel rooms.
