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)