Susan Milius

Susan Milius

Life Sciences Writer

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. Animals

    The naming of the elephant-shrew

    A new species of giant elephant-shrew, small bounding forest dwellers very distantly related to elephants, has been discovered in Tanzania. With video.

  2. Animals

    Very brown sheep have a dark side

    Big, dark sheep on a Scottish island are not breaking the rules of evolution after all.

  3. Biological Moon Shot

    The first entries—with the basics for a mere 30,000 species—in the Web-based Encyclopedia of Life are scheduled for release in a matter of weeks.

  4. Ecosystems

    Big Foot: Eco-footprints of rich dwarf poor nations’ debt

    The first global accounting finds rich and middle-income nations stomping heavy footprints on poorer ones.

  5. Animals

    Fenced-off trees drop their friends

    Protecting acacia trees from large, tree-munching animals sets off a chain of events that ends up ruining the trees' partnership with their bodyguard ants.

  6. Animals

    Butterfly’s clock linked to compass

    The most detailed look yet at the monarch butterfly's daily rhythm keeper suggests it's closer to ancient forms than to the fruit fly's or mouse's inner clock.

  7. Seeing Again: Blind fish parents have fry that see

    Cross two strains of blind cavefish that have lived in the dark for a million years, and some of their offspring will be able to see.

  8. Animals

    Purring birds teach their chicks to beg

    African birds called pied babblers teach their chicks that certain parental noises mean food is on the way.

  9. Animals

    Not So Spineless

    Looking for personalities in animals, even among spiders and insects, could add new twists to ideas about evolution and explain some odd animal behavior.

  10. Furry Math: Macaques can do sums like people in a hurry

    Macaques and college students showed similarities in performance on a computer test of split-second arithmetic, suggesting a common inheritance of the ability to do approximate math without counting.

  11. Humans

    Fishing curbs can lead to profit

    New economic models suggest that fishing crews that cut back long enough to let stocks rebound will find compensation in higher profits later.

  12. Animals

    Hatch a Thief: Brains incline birds toward a life of crime

    When it comes to a bird family's propensity to pilfer, a larger than usual brain for a particular body size is more important than body size alone.