All Stories by Susan Milius
- Animals
Frog’s gift of grab comes from saliva and squishy tissue
What puts the grip in a frog’s high-speed strike? Quick-change saliva and a super-soft tongue, scientists find.
- Animals
Animals can do ‘almost math’
Humans aren’t the only animals with a number sense. Scientists are trying to figure out where and when it evolved.
- Animals
Spidey sense: They can hear you!
Surprise! At least some spiders can hear us. Even without eardrums, jumping spiders can still detect airborne sounds from across the room.
- Health & Medicine
Zebra finches can ‘drink’ water from their own fat
When water is scarce, thirsty zebra finches can produce their own water. They do it by breaking down their body fat.
- 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.
