The researchers took a “safety-first” approach. They deliberately excluded all viruses that infect humans or animals from the ...

When scientists sent bacteria-infecting viruses to the International Space Station, the microbes did not behave the same way ...

Near-weightless conditions can mutate genes and alter the physical structures of bacteria and phages, disrupting their normal ...

The laboratories of the International Space Station (ISS) offer a unique observation ground for the evolution of microbes. A ...

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 ...

In a new study, terrestrial bacteria-infecting viruses were still able to infect their E. coli hosts in near-weightless "microgravity" conditions aboard the International Space Station, but the ...

New research shows how surface material and temperature change how long viruses survive and whether they can still spread.

Scientists have discovered something intriguing in a new type of organism that actually eats viruses. The organisms, which are known as virovores, don't just eat viruses accidentally, either. These ...

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 ...

Vertebrates such as ourselves rely on a complicated, multi-layer immune system to limit the impact of pathogens. Specialized B and T cells play a central role by recognizing specific pathogens and ...

In a step forward for genetic engineering and synthetic biology, researchers have modified a strain of Escherichia coli bacteria to be immune to natural viral infections while also minimizing the ...