The story of life’s beginnings gets stranger when you look closely at viruses. These tiny entities seem to sit at the edge of biology. They carry genetic material, but they cannot make proteins on ...

A detailed 3D map of a bacteria-hunting virus reveals ancient origins and new promise against superbugs. A research team led by the University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka has created a highly ...

For much of modern biology, scientists argued that viruses are not alive, pointing to a basic limitation: they cannot make proteins on their own and must depend entirely on the cells they infect for ...

Researchers have made a significant step forward in understanding how gut bacteria, and specifically a newly discovered virus ...

The newly described archaeon Sukunaarchaeum mirabile carries the smallest known genome among Archaea and blurs life’s limits.

Russell has a PhD in the history of medicine, violence, and colonialism. His research has explored topics including ethics, science governance, and medical involvement in violent contexts. Russell has ...

U.S. scientists have discovered a hidden molecular “switch” that herpes viruses rely on to invade cells. By combining AI, ...

A cat called Gizmo. Image by Tim Sandle. A cat called Gizmo. Image by Tim Sandle. Researchers from the University of Florida, including virologist John Lednicky, identified this strain during ...

The influenza virus manipulates the body's gene regulation system to accelerate its own spread. A new study also shows that an already approved drug could help strengthen immune defenses -- though its ...

Scientists have captured a never-before-seen, high-resolution look at influenza’s stealthy invasion of human cells, revealing that the cells aren’t just helpless victims. Using a groundbreaking ...

The unusual cases of pneumonia began to appear in midwinter, in China. The cause, researchers would later learn, was a coronavirus new to science. By March, the infection began to spread to other ...