Daft male spiders prefer females who are more likely to eat them
Female brown widow spiders become less fertile as they age, and more likely to kill and eat their mates – yet males still prefer them over younger females
Brain zap can make people re-experience old dreams while awake
While déjà-vu is a false feeling of familiarity, déjà-rêvé is a rare experience of suddenly recalling a dream – and it can be sparked by zapping the brain
Leopards that live in cities are protecting people from rabies
Wild leopards wander into the Indian city of Mumbai to prey on feral dogs – and in doing so they stop the dogs biting people and passing on the rabies virus
A deadly predator could save the UK’s threatened red squirrels
Britain’s native red squirrels have been retreating for decades in the face of invasive grey squirrels, but predators called pine martens could help save them
Drones reveal huge colonies of 1.5 million penguins on islands
Two massive colonies of Adélie penguins have been discovered on the Danger Islands off the coast of Antarctica, bringing the global population to 8 million
Fish called ‘sarcastic fringehead’ has a wider mouth than body
Sarcastic fringeheads have a truly spectacular threat display: they open their mouths until they’re gaping wide, displaying two rows of teeth and fluorescent cheeks
A weird underground plant has been rediscovered after 151 years
A species of subterranean plant was only seen once, in 1866, and was assumed to be extinct – until researchers stumbled across living specimens in Borneo
Biggest ever family tree shows when cousins stopped having sex
A family tree of 13 million people has been built using data from an ancestry website, and it reveals when and why people started avoiding marrying close relations
Surprise! Having a big brain really does mean having less muscle
It’s an evolutionary mystery how humans and other primates found the energy to support their large brains, but now it seems sacrificing some muscle might have helped
Anus photos can build brand loyalty, in monkeys at least
Everyone knows that in advertising sex sells, and it turns out that sex-themed adverts even work on rhesus macaques