Yet another selection of amusing, interesting and/or absurd articles you may have missed …
It appears none of us would be here if it weren’t for a virus which invaded a gene which controls the development of the placenta. Carl Zimmer reports.

It’s not every day we find a new mammal. Let alone right under our noses. The Machu Picchu arboreal chinchilla rat (Cuscomys oblativa) was thought extinct, but has been discovered alive and well. How do we lose a cat-sized mammal?
We all know cats love boxes. But cats don’t just love boxes; cats may NEED boxes for their wellbeing.

Arachnophobia is (one of) the most common fears we have. Because all spiders are hairy, scary and lethal, right? But just how dangerous are Britain’s household spiders? Spoiler: not very.
From the journal of “why didn’t we think of this before?” here’s a very simple way to control the spread of invasive plants.
While on plants, another piece on why leaves change colour in autumn.
Peaches. Flavourful but fuzzy. Except when they’re nectarines. It seems the nectarine is a peach with just one modified gene which removes the fuzziness.
While we’re mentioning flavour, and thus taste … Are you a supertaster? Don’t know? Here’s how to find out.
Now, one of the great British arguments … How to make tea: milk first or last? I’m a milk first man, and it seems science agrees. Probably.
Now, at last, we leave science behind for lifestyle …
Nikola Novak on the enjoyment of being naked.
A real-life Romanian prostitute working in Amsterdam’s Red Light District tells us why the Nordic model for eradicating prostitution can never work.

Long before we had browsers we had books. And right from the beginning books needed bookmarks. Erik Kwakkel shows us some medieval bookmarks.
Just for amusement, here’s another paper creation: a life-sized articulated velociraptor.

Finally, Pope Francis has made the most sensible pronouncement by any Pope for a long time: “I believe in guardian angels … and everyone should listen to their advice”.