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

    Web decorating with garbage

    Spider webs adorned with decaying food remains attract more attacks, but maybe there’s a defensive trade-off at work.

  2. Earth

    Bird deaths blamed on vitamin deficiency

    Shortage of thiamine may have been killing birds in the Baltic and possibly elsewhere for some 25 years.

  3. Animals

    Turtles make sense after all

    The odd bodies of turtles add a wrinkle to standard land-dwelling vertebrates.

  4. Life

    Climate change shrinks sheep

    Milder winters help small, weak lambs survive but more competition for food slows growth.

  5. Earth

    Dirty snow may bring green burst to mountain peaks

    Dust blowing in from distant deserts speeds the melting of snow and may shake up ecosystems on the slopes.

  6. Life

    Beetle philandering doesn’t work out for the ladies

    A common idea about the benefits of multiple matings for females turns out to be wrong for seed beetles.

  7. Health & Medicine

    Downside of red-hot chili peppers

    In the wild, a culinary kick comes with risks to the plant.

  8. Life

    Hummingbird pulls Top Gun stunts

    Male hummingbirds set record for extreme plunges out of the sky.

  9. No brainer behavior

    Messages, memory, maybe even intelligence — botanists wrangle over how far plants can go.

  10. Life

    Tickling apes reveals laughter’s origins

    Roots of laughter go back at least 10 to 16 million years, study of romping apes suggests.

  11. Life

    Phony fighters discovered among fig wasps

    A newly discovered species of fig wasp has a fraction of dishonest guys with big mouthparts.

  12. Life

    Ocean’s gazillion

    A picture of past ocean life suggests a higher capacity for marine life than what modern habitats host.