All Stories by Susan Milius
- Plants
Secret Agent: Hidden helper lets fungus save plants from heat
A fungus that supposedly lets plants live in overheated soil turns out to work only if it's infected with a certain virus.
- Ecosystems
Saving Whales the Easy Way? Less lobstering could mean fewer deaths
A provocative proposal suggests that the U.S. lobster fleet in the Gulf of Maine could reduce the number of traps, maintain its profits, and improve life for endangered right whales.
- Plants
Biggest Bloom: Superflower changes branch on family tree
The plants with the world's largest flowers, the rafflesias, need to be moved closer to poinsettias on the family tree of plant life.
- Animals
Guys Roll Eyes: Fish show some eyeball to their rivals
During breeding season, male fish roll their eyes to send a quick "Back off, punk" signal to other males, researchers say.
- Ecosystems
Most Bees Live Alone
Concern about honeybee shortages has inspired new interest in bees that lead solitary lives and don't bother storing honey.
- Animals
No-Dad Dragons: Komodos reproduce without males
Two female Komodo dragons in zoos have startled their keepers by laying viable eggs without males, possibly as a last resort at a time when mates are in increasingly short supply.
-
Hottest Fixer: Undersea-vent microbe sets nitrogen record
A spherical microbe from the weird world of hot-water ocean vents has trumped the nitrogen-processing powers of all organisms previously studied.
- Animals
Extreme Tongue: Bat excels at saying ‘Aah’
The new champion among mammals at sticking out its tongue is a small bat from Ecuador.
- Animals
New Butterfly: High-alpine species from low-life parents
Little bluish butterflies high in the Sierra Nevada could be one of the few animal species to have arisen from crossbreeding of two other species.
- Animals
Fighting Styles: Gene gives flies his, her conflict moves
Switching forms of one gene can make a male fruit fly fight like a girl, and vice versa.
- Animals
Tough policing deters cheating in insects
In insect societies that have tough police, it's coercion, rather than kinship, that's preventing crime.
- Animals
Chicken Speak: Birds pass test for fancy communication
The chicken may be the first animal other than primates that's been shown to make sounds that, like words, represent something in the environment. With audio.
