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Robin Henig on the origins and purpose of play

Nice piece on the “strange inevitability of evolution” and the source of biological innovations. By Philip Ball.

“People with autism, who often have trouble describing discomfort, could benefit from alternative methods of measurement. But there are so many to choose from it can be hard to know which to use.” Rose Eveleth on alternatives to the smiley-face pain scale.

Emily Graslie meets a pregnant bat and the world’s largest spider. “Got to let it get closer to her face.”

“Those weren’t noisy pixels. Those were freaking stars.” Phil Plait