Maybe the first life on Earth was part of an 'RNA world.' Artur Plawgo/Science Photo Library via Getty Images How life on Earth started has puzzled scientists for a long time. And it still does.

For much of modern biology, scientists argued that viruses are not alive, pointing to a basic limitation: they cannot make ...

Scientists have discovered over 600 different species of bacteria-hunting viruses living in our common bathroom items, though the microbes pose no harm to people. Reading time 3 minutes Some of the ...

There was a lack of knowledge about the diversity of viruses, particularly bacteriophages, present in everyday indoor environments, like showerheads and toothbrushes. Step aside tropical rainforests ...

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 ...

How did viruses evolve? Are they a streamlined form of something that existed long ago, or an ultimate culmination of smaller genetic elements joined together? Aa Aa Aa The evolutionary history of ...

Viruses rely on the machinery of their host cells to produce proteins, but some giant viruses encode a key part of this toolkit in their genome, enabling them to direct the host cell to produce more ...

In a new study, published in Cell, researchers describe a newfound mechanism for creating proteins in a giant DNA virus, comparable to a mechanism in eukaryotic cells. The finding challenges the dogma ...

Note: The image included in this release has been temporarily removed due to a copyright inquiry. Step aside tropical rainforests and coral reefs — the latest hotspot to offer awe-inspiring ...