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Microbes, Bacteria, Viruses

Enceladus is one of Saturn's 293 known moons.

Could Saturn’s Moon Enceladus Host Alien Life? Earth Microbes Can Live in Its Simulated Environment, Boosting Its Potential Habitability

Enceladus is covered in ice, but that layer might hide a subsurface ocean. Researchers have long wondered if the salty body of water has the right conditions to host life, and now, a team suggests that an Earthly, heat-loving organism could thrive there

Researchers prompted around 950 A.I. agents to search through a massive DNA database.

Anthropic Says Its A.I. Discovered a New Enzyme System That Resembles the Revolutionary Gene-Editing Tool CRISPR

Experts at the company don’t know what the newfound system does, so its potential utility in biology—if any—remains unclear. But the work marks a major advancement because the A.I. made this discovery mostly on its own

A giant isopod plucked from the ocean near China

This Massive, Deep-Sea Roly Poly Can Go Years Without Food Thanks to a Huge Stomach and a Stolen Gene, Study Suggests

The ancestors of the giant isopod Bathynomus jamesi—a seafloor-dwelling creature that resembles a huge pill bug—acquired the snippet of DNA from bacteria more than 16 million years ago, according to a new study. The gene helps the animal slow its metabolism

Fire amoeba wiggling around at 140 degrees Fahrenheit

Meet the ‘Fire Amoeba,’ a Newfound Blobby Organism That’s Defying Expectations About How Much Heat Complex Life Can Handle

The newly described species, found in Northern California’s Lassen Volcanic National Park, can still reproduce at 145 degrees Fahrenheit and move around at 147 degrees, according to a new study

Scientists have traced the deadly sheep pox virus back 3,700 years.

The Ancient DNA of a Deadly Animal Virus Has Been Lurking in Medieval Manuscripts for Centuries, Researchers Find

A new analysis of teeth and parchment suggests that the devastating sheep pox virus has been infecting livestock for 3,700 years

Scientists used Evo, an AI tool that can suggest genome designs, to design new viruses. 

Scientists Used A.I. to Design New Viruses. The Technology Could Be a Boon for Medicine, but Experts Worry About Harmful Pathogens

The findings represent the first genomes, or complete genetic instruction books, designed entirely with generative A.I. The resulting viruses attack only bacteria, which could one day help overcome the problem of antibiotic-resistant microbes

 SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, under the microscope

Covid-19 Can Reawaken Dormant Viruses in the Body, Which Might Worsen Symptoms of the Respiratory Illness, Study Suggests

Most people carry a sleeping virus in their bodies, such as the herpesvirus that causes mononucleosis, or the “kissing disease.” A new study hints that Covid-19 triggers their reactivation, which could worsen symptoms and increase the risk of long Covid

Older adults are especially at risk of flu-related complications.

For the First Time, an mRNA Flu Shot Will Be Available to Some People in the United States. Here’s What You Should Know

The Food and Drug Administration just approved the new type of flu vaccine for adults ages 50 and older. It relies on the same technology as many Covid-19 jabs. However, it’s unclear whether insurance companies will pay for the novel flu shot

Researchers involved in the study collect samples at Blood Falls.

Why Does Antarctica’s Blood Falls Spew Ruby Red Water? Microbes Offer New Clues About the Geologic Feature’s Ancient Origins

The falls contain saltwater rich with iron, which oxidizes and turns red when exposed to air. A new study provides further evidence that the brine probably comes from ocean water trapped when flood waters retreated millions of years ago

A digital illustration of typical prokaryotes—cells that do not contain a nucleus. Bacteria and archaea are the two kinds of prokaryotes on Earth, and their ancestors were the first organisms to evolve.

A New Study Points to Two Origins of Life on Earth by Tracing Early Chemical Reactions in Single-Celled Organisms

The work challenges the assumption that all life descended from one free-living cell. Instead, it suggests that two microbial lineages, the bacteria and archaea, evolved independently from a primordial, nonliving ancestor

A European depiction of Spanich and Inca conflict

Smallpox DNA Hidden for Centuries in Mummies Found in Chile Suggests European Colonists Brought the Virus to the Americas

Researchers say they found the first direct, molecular proof of the deadly trajectory the virus took

Artist E. Le Bihan created this depiction of the First Fleet entering Sydney Harbor.

Smallpox Scabs That British Doctors Used to Inoculate Patients May Have Introduced the Deadly Disease to Australia, New Research Suggests

Two new studies find that British colonists arriving via ship in the late 18th century likely introduced smallpox, which devastated Aboriginal communities far more than previously known

Microscope images of an artificial cell, colored green, dividing into two

Scientists Say They’ve Made Cells That Feed, Grow and Reproduce, Bringing Them One Step Closer to Building Life From Scratch

The human-made cells show many hallmarks of life, but they can’t make all their necessary internal structures or divide for very many generations

The scientists got permission to defrost the mummified remains.

Scientists Made Sourdough Bread With Yeast Found on Ötzi the Iceman’s Mummified Body

Discovered in the Alps in 1991, the remains are home to a wide variety of bacteria, fungi and yeasts

Two members of the Médecins Sans Frontières Ebola response team outside a hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo

These Experimental Ebola Treatments and Vaccines Might Help Slow the Outbreak Spreading in Congo and Uganda, WHO Says

No approved therapeutics exist for the virus species causing the outbreak, which has been associated with more than 1,000 cases of Ebola. The World Health Organization has identified several therapeutics to test in clinical trials in the coming months

A mosquito drinking blood from a bag, accessible through mesh

Could Bug Spray Attract Mosquitoes? Lab Insects Learned That the Smell of DEET Would Lead Them to a Tasty Treat

Researchers don’t know how the findings might overlap with real-world settings. But the discovery suggests that we’re most vulnerable when our insect repellent is wearing off, meaning we should reapply it regularly

Scientists carried out their experiments in the bacterium Escherichia coli. Cells of the species are artificially colored blue in this microscope image.

Scientists Used A.I. to Redesign a Microbe’s Machinery to Function Without a Key Ingredient of Life

Although the researchers did not create an entire cell that could function without a crucial building block, the findings represent a big step in synthetic biology and provide a glimpse at how Earth’s earliest organisms may have lived

A visitor washes his hands before entering a hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of Ebola prevention measures.

The Ebola Outbreak in Africa Was Declared a Global Health Emergency by the WHO. Here’s What to Know About the Rare but Severe Illness

The international health agency notes that the outbreak does not meet the criteria for a pandemic, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that the risk to the American public is low

A shell that protected the Perseverance rover during its descent to Mars in a clean room at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

This Microscopic Fungus Survived NASA’s Sterilization Protocols—and Is Potentially Hardy Enough to Contaminate Mars

The microbe was gathered from the agency’s clean rooms, where experts build spacecraft in carefully controlled environments. The findings reveal gaps in the agency’s procedures to prevent durable hitchhikers

Cattle are a major driver of methane emissions.

Why Do Cows Burp Up So Much Planet-Warming Methane? A Newly Discovered Structure in Their Gut Microbes Could Be a Culprit

The “hydrogenobody” is an organelle inside certain microorganisms that live in a special stomach chamber in cattle, sheep and goats, according to a new study

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