Gallery: Animal Sex Is Dangerous and Horrifying. So Why Does Sex Exist at All?
London Natural History Museum01Linophryne-sp
Deep-sea anglerfish females like this one dwarf the males, so much so that the male doesn’t even look like the same species. A male will bite onto his lady friend, then fuse his face to her body. He lives the rest of his days like this, [releasing sperm when she releases eggs](http://stag-mantis.wired.com/2013/11/absurd-creature-of-the-week-anglerfish/). That little bump at the back of her belly? That's her husband.
Oceans IQ02The-bizzare-pearlfish
Not only does the pearlfish swim up sea cucumbers’ butts for shelter, every so often several will take up residence in one. Sometimes they’ll eat its gonads, other times they mate inside the sea cucumber. So yeah, [don’t get reincarnated as a sea cucumber](http://stag-mantis.wired.com/2014/02/absurd-creature-of-the-week-pearlfish/).
Gary Cranitch, Queensland Museum03creature-sex-gallery2
Antechinus is a little Australian marsupial whose males go on a three-week, testosterone-fueled sex frenzy. What kind of frenzy? The kind where they have so much sex that they lose their fur, bleed internally, and sometimes go blind. At the end of the three weeks, [every single male has died](http://stag-mantis.wired.com/2014/05/absurd-creature-of-the-week-this-marsupial-has-marathon-sex-until-it-goes-blind-and-drops-dead/), leaving more food for the pregnant females.
D. Parer & E. Parer-Cook/Minden Pictures/Corbis04Paper Nautilus (Argonauta nodosa) on sand bottom, Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, Australia
A female argonaut excretes a beautiful shell from two modified arms. The male isn’t so beautiful. He’s positively tiny compared to her and skips building the shell altogether. When the two meet, he uses his own modified arm called a hectocotylus to transfer sperm into her oviduct. And as he’s leaving, [the arm snaps off](http://stag-mantis.wired.com/2015/01/absurd-creature-of-the-week-argonaut/). Yay for sexual dismemberment!
Image: Current Biology, Yoshizawa et al.05715842
You don’t need me to tell you that boys have boy parts and girls have girl parts. But not for this cave insect. Females have penises that they insert into male vaginas to pick up sperm and a nutritious package called a nuptial gift, which the females are crazy for. Accordingly, [they aggressively pursue males](http://stag-mantis.wired.com/2014/04/scientists-discover-bugs-with-sex-reversed-genitalia-doing-it-for-70-hours/), a rarity in the animal kingdom.
US Special Forces Soldier Arrested for Polymarket Bets on Maduro Raid
The master sergeant allegedly used classified intel to profit on the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, marking the first US arrest for insider trading on a prediction market.
Kate Knibbs
Newly Deciphered Sabotage Malware May Have Targeted Iran’s Nuclear Program—and Predates Stuxnet
Researchers have finally cracked Fast16, mysterious code capable of silently tampering with calculation and simulation software. It was created in 2005—and likely deployed by the US or an ally.
Andy Greenberg
Rednote Draws a Line Between China and the World
As the platform expands abroad, it’s taking steps to separate Chinese users from the international audiences it once brought together.
Zeyi Yang
Apple’s Next Chapter, SpaceX and Cursor Strike a Deal, and Palantir’s Controversial Manifesto
In this week’s episode of Uncanny Valley, we talk about Tim Cook’s legacy as CEO at Apple and what his long-rumored departure means for the future of one of the world's biggest companies.
Brian Barrett
At 'AI Coachella,' Stanford Students Line Up to Learn From Silicon Valley Royalty
CS 153 has gone viral on the Palo Alto campus—and on X. Not everyone is happy about it.
Maxwell Zeff
Palantir Employees Are Starting to Wonder if They're the Bad Guys
Interviews with current and former Palantir employees, along with internal Slack messages obtained by WIRED, suggest a workforce in turmoil.
Makena Kelly
This Is the Only Office Lamp That Does Double Duty on My Nightstand
Portable lamps are rarely, if ever, as powerful, precise, and multipurpose as the Lume Cube Edge Light Go.
Matthew Korfhage
These New Smart Glasses From Ex-OnePlus Engineers Have a Hidden Cost
The Kickstarter-funded glasses from L'Atitude 52°N have AI features bundled for one year, but the company doesn't know yet how much it will charge for access after that.
Boone Ashworth
The Best Pool-Cleaning Robots for a Truly Automated Summer
Send the pool guy packing. One of these robotic buddies can maintain your water quality instead.
Christopher Null
The Best Fitbit Models for Every Lifestyle
The fitness trackers I'd recommend to beginners, athletes, and kids.
Boutayna Chokrane
Robot Vacuums That Don't Suck (Unless It's Dirt)
Tired of vacuuming? Hand the reins to a robot vacuum.
Nena Farrell
They Made D4vd a Star. Now They Want Him Convicted of Murder
A legion of young fans propelled the singer D4vd to viral fame. Now that he’s been charged with the murder of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, they say the clues were in their Discord all along.
Jennifer Swann