Microbiology

This biochemist calls BS on extending human lifespan. Is he right?

Success in nature and culture depends just as much on timing as it does on brilliance.

A universe of microbes is melting with Arctic ice—with consequences for us all.

We are formed by more than DNA. Meet the bioelectric code.

One question for Brad Ringeisen, a chemist and executive director of the Innovative Genomics Institute.

Father Time is ticking away in our DNA.

Tiny genetic sequences in a mother’s bacteria seem to hop into the infant’s bacteria, perhaps ensuring a healthy microbiome later in life.

Siddhartha Mukherjee sings the praises of the cell to offer us a holistic portrait of life.

Nick Lane is asking—and answering—the vital questions about life.

The next miracle drug might be hiding in a primeval undersea forest.

Exploring the minuscule and mysterious world of viruses.

In grafted plants, shrunken chloroplasts can jump between species by slipping through unexpected gateways in cells walls.

Will the world now wake up to the global threat of zoonotic diseases?

A bold project codes human data into microbes that will survive for millions of years.

A new model shows that the denizens of a vast, ancient biome beneath the seafloor use barely enough energy to stay alive—and broadens understanding of what life can look like.