Person

Daniela Rößler

1. Scientists film REM-like sleep in an Australian jumping spider for the first time

   A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) found that the Australian jumping spider Portia fimbriata has at least two sleep stages, including one resembling rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, with video capturing subtle eye twitches and leg curling. Co-author Daniela Rößler, a behavioural ecologist at the University of Bonn, said the similarity of the spiders' sleep structure to key features of vertebrate sleep was far greater than anyone expected. The team is now studying how the spiders sleep in the wild.

   Oct 27, 2026 Afternoon