Microbiology

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.

Jan van IJken’s short film reveals “an unknown universe inhabited by alien-like creatures.” 

 If you’re an athlete—even a very occasional one—odds are you’ve dealt with a muscle injury at some point. After all, muscle injuries account for 10 to 55 percent of sports traumas. Often they’re just a nuisance—say, a minor strain that takes you a couple days to get back on your feet. But severely injured muscles, […]

Decades of basic science research on an obscure virus helped fast-track COVID-19 vaccines.

Deep in the ocean abyss, xenophyophores are worlds unto themselves.

A selection of illustrations from the new book Carbon, One Atom’s Odyssey.

Neural networks have been taught to quickly read the surfaces of proteins—molecules critical to many biological processes. The advance is already being used to create defenses for the virus responsible for COVID-19.

A spotlight on the species that dominates the global ecosystem.

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

A pervasive, pernicious virus has evaded vaccine developers for decades. By getting a clear look at its protective shell, they might finally know how to defeat it.

To scientists’ surprise, blended mixtures of cytoplasm can reorganize themselves into cell-like compartments with working structural components.