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

    That’s One Weird Tooth

    The narwhal's distinctive spiral tusk has structures that could make it phenomenally sensitive, raising new questions about its functions.

  2. Animals

    Woodpecker video is challenged and defended

    The video released last spring as evidence that the ivory-billed woodpecker exists may show a common pileated woodpecker, some critics say.

  3. Animals

    Can You Hear Me Now? Frogs in roaring streams use ultrasonic calls

    A small frog living beside Chinese hot springs may be the first amphibian known to use ultrasound in its calls.

  4. Animals

    Cannibal Power: Mormon crickets swarm to eat and not be eaten

    What keeps the great swarms of Mormon crickets rolling across the landscape may be a combination of nutritional deficits and the risk of getting cannibalized.

  5. Animals

    Killer Flatworm: New species hunts with puffer fish toxin

    A newly described marine flatworm from Guam hunts with the same toxin that a puffer fish uses. With video.

  6. Animals

    Males as Nannies? First test for wasps’ hidden baby-care skills

    Young male wasps, in the absence of females, can care for larvae.

  7. Animals

    Hawk skin sends UV signal

    The patch of skin above a hawk's beak looks orange-yellow to us, but to another hawk, it may broadcast ultraviolet sex appeal.

  8. Animals

    Bird-Safe Rx: Alternative drug won’t kill India’s vultures

    Researchers have found an alternative to the livestock drug that has accidentally poisoned a majority of the vultures in India and neighboring countries.

  9. Animals

    New candidates for smallest vertebrate

    Two recent scientific papers have described fish species that could, depending on the definition, be the world's smallest known vertebrate.

  10. Animals

    Eggs Scramble: Fungi trick termites into babysitting

    A fungus may be taking advantage of hardworking termite nursemaids by tricking them into tending egg-shaped fungal reproductive bodies along with real termite eggs.

  11. Animals

    Just Duet

    Two or more birds in some species can sing with such coordination that a human listener would swear that it's just one singer. With audio files.

  12. Dieting to Save a Species: Mother parrots that eat less avoid excess of sons

    New Zealand's endangered, flightless parrot population is recovering from a shortage of daughters now that conservationists are counting calories for the mothers.