This article was originally featured on Knowable Magazine. More than 1.5 billion years ago, a momentous thing happened: Two small, primitive cells became one. Perhaps more than any event—barring the ...

Archaeal cell membranes are distinguished by ether-linked isoprenoid chains attached to a glycerol-1-phosphate backbone, forming either diether lipids (archaeols) or membrane-spanning tetraethers ...

Archaea—one of the three primary domains of life alongside bacteria and eukaryotes—are often overlooked and sometimes mistaken for bacteria due to their single-celled nature and lack of a nucleus. Yet ...