Phages, viruses that attack bacteria, have a head and a tail. The head contains the phage's genetic material and the tail is used to identify a potential host, that is, a bacterial cell into which it can inject this material. Once the injection is comple

Genomes can now be entrusted to store information about a variety of transient biological events inside of living cells, as they happen, like a flight recorder collecting data from an aircraft.

Most influenza viruses enter human or animal cells through specific pathways on the cells' surface. Researchers at the University of Zurich have now discovered that certain human flu viruses and avian flu viruses can also use a second entry pathway, a pr

The "power plants" of living cells, the mitochondria, probably evolved through endosymbiosis: A bacterium migrated into a primordial cell and eventually developed into an organelle that provides the cell with energy, among other things. Mitochon

A trio of environmental specialists at the National Institute for Environmental Studies, in Japan, has found that Japanese honeybees sometimes resort to slapping ants with their wings to prevent their entry into their nest.

Peek inside the human genome and, among the 20,000 or so genes that serve as building blocks of life, you'll also find flecks of DNA left behind by viruses that infected primate ancestors tens of millions of years ago.

When trying to understand the present, it's helpful to look to history. New research from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln examined the fossil record going back 66 million years and tracked changes to mammalian ecosystems and species diversity on the N

Researchers have uncovered an under-the-sea phenomenon where coral-destroying crown-of-thorns starfish larvae have been feasting on blue-green algae bacteria known as "sea sawdust."

The most threatened reef fish are also the most overlooked by scientists and the general public. That is the startling finding of a team of scientists led by a CNRS researcher.

Lice have been found feeding on the skin and blood of free-range chickens, which are infected at much higher rates than caged flocks. This finding could have implications for states like California, where all egg production is cage-free.

A flock of migrating geese glides through the summer sky in an unmistakable "V" formation… a thundering herd of bison rumbles across the plains as a formidable group... and a massive school of sardines swims mesmerizingly in unison.

Cut marks on fossils could be evidence of humans exploiting large mammals in Argentina more than 20,000 years ago, according to a study published July 17, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Mariano Del Papa of National University of La Plata, Arg