All Stories by Susan Milius
- Agriculture
Can Silicon Valley entrepreneurs make crickets the next chicken?
Entrepreneurs are bringing automation and data analysis to insect agriculture to build a profitable business that helps feed the planet.
- Animals
How aphids sacrifice themselves to fix their homes with fatty goo
Young aphids swollen with fatty substances save their colony by self-sacrifice, using that goo to patch breaches in the wall of their tree home.
- Animals
Parenting chores cut into how much these bird dads fool around
Frantic parenting demands after eggs hatch curtail male black coucals’ philandering excursions the most, a study finds.
- Health & Medicine
Testing mosquito pee could help track the spread of diseases
A new way to monitor the viruses that wild mosquitoes are spreading passes its first outdoor test.
- Plants
A major crop pest can make tomato plants lie to their neighbors
Insects called silverleaf whiteflies exploit tomatoes’ ability to detect damage caused to nearby plants.
- Animals
Geneticists close in on how mosquitoes sniff out human sweat
A long-sought protein proves vital for mosquitoes’ ability to detect lactic acid, a great clue for finding a human.
- Animals
The first male bees spotted babysitting are mostly stepdads
Some male bees guard young that are likely not their own while mom looks for pollen, a study finds.
- Animals
Bears that eat ‘junk food’ may hibernate less and age faster
Wild black bears snacking on leftovers of sugary, highly processed foods in Colorado show possible signs of faster cellular wear.
- Animals
This parasitic cuckoo bird shows cheaters don’t always get ahead
Birds called greater anis that can slip extra eggs into other nests create a natural test of the benefits of honest parenting.
- Climate
Climate change could increase foodborne illness by energizing flies
Warmer, more lively house flies could spread more Campylobacter bacteria by landing on more food.
- Plants
Shutdown aside, Joshua trees live an odd life
Growing only in the U.S. Southwest, wild Joshua trees evolved a rare, fussy pollination scheme.
- Animals
How black soldier fly larvae can demolish a pizza so fast
When gorging together, fly larvae create a living fountain that whooshes slowpokes up and away.
