Science Stories with Joe Johnson

Joe Johnson is our resident science guy who brings us science stories that caught his eye this week. From Soviet spacecraft hurtling back toward Earth—and even a controversial signal of life from a distant exoplanet—to carnivorous caterpillars in Hawaiian spider webs, it’s weird, it’s fascinating, and it’s all real science.

Image: A “bone collector” caterpillar sits in a cobweb with a spider and its egg sac. The newly discovered moth species disguises itself as a larva by covering itself with insect parts. (Credit: Daniel Rubinoff/Smithsonian Magazine)