Scientists are uncovering viral features that blur the boundary between living and non-living, from giant viruses with protein-making tools to mysterious RNA entities in our microbiomes. These ...

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. Ever since viruses came to light in the late 1800s, scientists have set them apart from the rest of life. Viruses were far smaller than ...

For decades, biology textbooks have drawn a firm line: viruses are not alive. They lack the machinery to reproduce on their own, they carry no metabolism, and they depend entirely on host cells to ...