New research confirms that dogs were the first animal to form a domestic relationship with humans, dating back to the end of the last Ice Age almost 16,000 years ago.

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• Constructing shelters out of Martian soil may be possible with bacterial help
• Male-on-male cricket 'twerking' and 'booty bumping' is not a case of mistaken identity
• Narrowing down potential alien signals from 12 billion to 100, thanks to SETI
• Researchers find a brain switch in mice to turn a deadbeat dad into a doting one

An unusual hellscape of a planet found 34 light years from Earth has a deep ocean of molten magma surrounded by noxious, hot, rotten egg-type fumes. It just may be the most uninhabitable alien landscape we've ever come across.

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• Neanderthal DNA can help explain how human faces form
• Nearly indestructible teeny tiny tardigrades struggle to survive in Martian dirt
• Tiny tags on monarch butterflies allow scientists to track their exact migration route
• A weird fish has a big hole in its head. Scientists finally have an idea why.

We used to think that of our primate relatives, chimps were the more aggressive ape and bonobos were more peaceful. A recent study found that bonobos are just as antagonistic as chimps, but it's the females targeting males.

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• Mission to deflect an asteroid was a smashing success
• Low gravity environments can lead to stronger blood clots in astronauts
• From fire to galaxy formation, a celebration of friction as a fundamental force
• Winter spiders survive subzero temperatures with a potent antifreeze