The story of life’s beginnings gets stranger when you look closely at viruses. These tiny entities seem to sit at the edge of ...

A giant DNA virus pulled from a Japanese freshwater pond is forcing scientists to rethink how complex cells first acquired their defining feature: the nucleus. Named ushikuvirus, the newly ...

Ushikuvirus, an amoeba-infecting giant virus, joins the family of giant viruses that may have driven the evolution of complex cells The origin of life on Earth becomes even more fascinating and ...

A giant virus discovered in Japan is adding fuel to the provocative idea that viruses helped create complex life. Named ushikuvirus, it infects amoebae and shows unique traits that connect different ...

Ancient viral fossils buried in our DNA are offering fresh clues about how today’s respiratory pathogens infect and spread. By tracing the shared architecture between long-extinct retroviruses and ...