All Stories by Susan Milius
- Life
Plants, animals adapt to city living
Cities have turned into experiments in evolution for both plants and animals, from the taste of clover to the stickiness of lizards’ toes.
- Genetics
GM mosquitoes cut rate of viral disease in Brazil
Adults males carrying the altered gene cannot father young that survive to adulthood. That’s when they suck blood — and can transmit disease.
- Animals
Pollen can become bee ‘junk food’ as CO2 rises
Increasing levels of the greenhouse gas are changing diminishing the food value of pollen, bees’ only source of protein.
- Animals
Picture This: Christmas tree worms
The tops of Christmas tree worms look like brightly colored plants. But they are really boneless marine animals with eyes that can breathe and gills that can see.
- Environment
Humans are ‘superpredators’
A new study compares the hunting habits of wild animals and humans. People, it turns out, are unlike any other predator on Earth.
- Animals
Wolves beat dogs at problem-solving test
When treats are at stake, wolves outperformed dogs at opening a closed container. The dog’s relationship with humans may explain why.
- Animals
Hummingbird tongues may be tiny pumps
Scientists had thought that hummingbird tongues work through capillary action. A new study, though, concludes they work like little pumps.
- Animals
Boa constrictors stop their victims’ hearts
It’s a myth that boa constrictors kill by suffocation. A new study shows the snakes actually squeeze off blood flow, stopping the hearts of their prey.
- Animals
Top rooster announces the dawn
Roosters know their places in the chicken world. Lower-ranking birds defer to the guy at the top of the pecking order. And they show it by holding their crows until after he greets the new day.
- Animals
Why seahorses have square tails
The unique shape of a seahorse tail provides strength, and it may also help the fish to grasp objects.
- Animals
This is no cold fish!
The opah is the fish closest to the whole-body warm-bloodedness typical of mammals and birds. This trait may give the species an edge in the ocean’s cold depths.
- Plants
Picture This: The world’s biggest seed
This monster seed develops on a super-slow-growing island palm. Key to that palm’s survival are leaves that funnel fertilized water to nutrient-starved roots.
