Researchers have identified a previously unknown giant virus that may offer new insight into how complex life first evolved.

The origin of life on Earth becomes even more fascinating and complex as we peer into the mysterious world of viruses. Said to have existed since living cells first appeared, these microscopic ...

Where will the next pandemic come from? One expert says his "bet is on viruses." (Getty Images/Science Photo Libra) Nearly four years after COVID-19 emerged, public health experts already say it’s not ...

Some viruses, like the common cold, are a flash in the pan. They infect us, our bodies fight back — which is what makes us sick — and then they’re gone, until the next variant rolls along. Other ...

Live virus vaccines use a weakened virus to help your body fight the real disease. Some people, like those who are very sick or pregnant, should not get live virus vaccines. A live virus vaccine ...

PHOENIX – Long before the coronavirus pandemic, Kathleen Muldoon knew what it felt like to have her life changed by a virus. In 2013, Muldoon was teaching embryology at the Geisel School of Medicine ...

Viruses are ancient. They have been infecting animals, our ancestors included, for hundreds of millions of years before the first humans ever showed up. And the legacy of those primordial infections ...

Besides serving as food for certain microbes, viruses perform some helpful functions that remain poorly understood. A ciliate, a type of single-celled microbe, swims next to Sphagnum moss, amplified ...