In the vast and often unseen world of microscopic life, a recent discovery may force scientists to rethink what it means to be alive. Nestled inside a tiny plankton cell, researchers found a ...

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen have shown that giant viruses long thought to exist only as fleeting, free-living particles that can embed themselves permanently in the ...

The so-called “circle of life” dictates that if a living thing exists, it’s probably food for something else. Viruses, however, have historically managed to escape this unofficial rule. Although ...

Researchers at the University of Würzburg have unveiled a new tool for analyzing RNA molecules. It visualizes their ...

The single-celled organism Naegleria fowleri ranks among the deadliest human parasites. Researchers have now discovered viruses that infect this harmful microbe. Named Naegleriavirus, these belong to ...

This newly found organism doesn’t act like a virus or a cell, and that could change everything we know about biology. In the ever-expanding universe of microscopic life, scientists have uncovered ...

When people talk about the coronavirus, they sometimes describe this invisible entity as if it has a personality and even a conscience. If you ask a biology or medical student what a virus is, they ...