All Stories by Susan Milius
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LifeFighting ‘like an animal’ may not be what you expect
Evolution has produced a broad range of conflict styles. And some of the best examples come from outside the world of the familiar.
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EnvironmentLight at night lengthens how long birds can spread West Nile virus
Light at night prolongs the time it takes these birds to knock out a West Nile infection. Mosquitoes that bite them during this time can pick up and spread their virus to others — even people.
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AnimalsKiller whale blows a raspberry, says ‘hello’
Orcas can mimic a range of sounds, including human speech — sort of.
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AnimalsTricky turns give prey a chance against lions and cheetahs
A bonanza of running data on wild predators shows that a successful hunt requires more than sprinting.
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PlantsBlooms on ‘chocolate’ tree are crazy-hard to pollinate
The cacao trees must be pollinated or those seeds that give us chocolate will never form. The rub: The trees’ flowers challenge all but some of the tiniest pollen-moving insects.
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AnimalsBlowflies keep their cool with drool
Personal air conditioning the blowfly way: Dangle a droplet of saliva and then swallow it.
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AnimalsSucking blood isn’t an easy life, even for vampires
Real vampires include bats, insects and even birds. And they’ve had to develop novel ways of dealing with a diet of blood.
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PlantsCool Job: Rethinking how plants hunt for water
Studies probing the very beginnings of root development may have important implications for growing food in a world where the climate is changing.
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EnvironmentLight pollution can foil plant-insect hookups
An experiment in remote European meadows shows that light pollution at night can affect the pollination of flowers — even into sunlight hours.
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AnimalsWhales feast when hatcheries release salmon
Humpback whales are visiting sites where hatcheries release juvenile salmon in Alaska. It’s a dining bonanza for the huge whales.
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AnimalsCould a dragonfly’s wings be alive — and breathing?
Highly magnified image showing what looks like breathing tubes suggests the morpho dragonfly’s wings may be unexpectedly alive.
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AnimalsOrangs nurse young for more than eight years!
Orangutan moms and babies have been tricky to study in the wild, so researchers used dental tests to reveal a record setting nursing period.