Viral DNA that is usually dismissed when sequencing the human genome could help to uncover useful information about complex ...

Antibiotic resistance is a global health challenge that could overtake cancer mortality within a few decades. In a new study, researchers at Umeå University, Sweden, show that the emergence of ...

Penn State scientists uncovered an ancient bacterial defense where dormant viral DNA helps bacteria fight new viral threats. The enzyme PinQ flips bacterial genes to create protective proteins that ...

Viruses that infect bacteria can still do their job in microgravity, but space changes the rules of the fight.

As antibiotic-resistant infections rise and are projected to cause up to 10 million deaths per year by 2050, scientists are looking to bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, as an alternative.

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

While many viruses kill their hosts, not all viruses are harmful. In fact, some even benefit the cells they infect. For instance, temperate phages are viruses capable of replicating innocuously inside ...

For the research, scientists compared samples incubated on Earth and on the International Space Station.

Scientists estimate that the earliest biological entities began to appear on Earth more than 4 billion years ago. "There was a sort of primordial soup from which certain organic molecules were formed.

As a general rule, most people want to avoid viruses, which are at the root of illnesses like colds, the flu, chickenpox and many a stomach bug. But what about a virus that doesn’t make people sick — ...