Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day from Nautilus! We’re celebrating with a sale on subscriptions—and also with these stories about love, attracting mates, and tricks animals play. 1. This Valentine’s Day, Go Public or Go Home Ken Kraaijeveld unveils ancient secrets of seduction from the animal kingdom. By Amy Maxmen Skeptics may call Valentine’s Day a Hallmark holiday, but its appeal is deeply embedded in our nature. Evolutionarily speaking, courtship rituals are far older than Saint Valentine. Nautilus spoke with Ken Kraaijeveld, an evolutionary biologist at VU University Amsterdam, about the rules of attraction, what females want, and how the heck anyone can even begin to guess. READ MORE 2. These Males Are Cheating Animals The tricks they play would make Darwin blush. By Alex Riley We think our own relationships are wrought with lies and intrigues, but this is nothing compared to the lengths animals will go to in their efforts to pass on their genes to the next generation. “The battle of the sexes is really ingrained in much of animal mating behavior,” says Karim Vahed, an entomologist from the University of Derby whose work focuses on sexual conflict. “The evolutionary interests of males and females over many decisions—like how often to mate, when to mate, who fertilizes the eggs—are often in conflict.” READ MORE 3. Can You Die From a Broken Heart? What happens to our bodies when the bonds of love are breached. By Katherine Streeter Ruth and Harold “Doc” Knapke met in elementary school. They exchanged letters during the war, when Doc was stationed in Germany. After he returned their romance began in earnest. They married, raised six children and celebrated 65 anniversaries together. And then on a single day in August 2013, in the room they shared in an Ohio nursing home, they died. READ MORE To really curl up with Nautilus, subscribe today and get your copy of our Winter 2015 Nautilus Quarterly. It includes new features, some of our best online content, and pages of sumptuous illustration. Join us on a journey of surprises.