Microbiologists Patrick Moreira and Purificación López-García, together with virologists Arturo Ludmir and Lynn Enquist, are at the center of a sharp debate over whether viruses count as living ...

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 ...

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, 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 ...

A giant virus discovered in Japan is adding fuel to the provocative idea that viruses helped create complex life. Named ushikuvirus, it infects amoebae and shows unique traits that connect different ...