In 2003, Jean-Michel Claverie made a discovery in bacterial genomics that would change his career trajectory and begin a new era in microbiology. “One day, we found a very strange beast that nobody ...

Using genomics, evolutionary biologists test several hypotheses on the origin of viruses. New evidence suggests they may have emerged more times than previously thought. Corroborating the virus-first ...

Scientists discover new viruses every year. A catalogue of the riskiest ones could help us spot the next pandemic before it ...

This article was produced in collaboration with The Conversation, a nonprofit news organization. A new year might mean new viral threats. Old viruses are constantly evolving. A warming and ...

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 ...

It's important to know the signs of a virus, so that you can act quickly to get rid of any malware and stay safe in future. A virus is a type of malicious software, or malware, that can replicate ...

In simple terms: a virus is a tiny package of genetic instructions with a delivery system. Outside a cell it is metabolically inert. Once inside a susceptible cell, it redirects the cell's machinery ...

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 ...

Like Hendra virus, Nipah is in a category of viruses called henipaviruses. It is zoonotic, meaning it can spread from animals to humans. As I explained in a previous Conversation article, outbreaks ...