Gain-of-function experiments are ingrained in the scientific process. In many instances, the benefits that stem from gain-of-function experiments are not immediately clear. Only decades later does the ...

Pepper’s last contribution to science was in May 2021, when he brought home a common cotton mouse carrying a type of ...

Influenza viruses like bird flu can mix and match their genomes, and this has played a role in at least three of the last ...

It’s time to make friends with your viruses Viruses are in us. They're even part of us. Now researchers want to map the human virome ...

New viruses, such as the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, can arise anywhere in the world and spread to cause a pandemic. But there's a lot you can do to prepare and protect yourself and others ...

But the bats don’t get sick. In fact, the reason so many bat species are full of all kinds of viruses is because their strong immune systems can keep pathogens at bay.

Pepper, the pet cat who made headlines last year for his role in the discovery of the first jeilongvirus found in the U.S., ...

Virusoids are strands of circular RNA that infect hosts by hitching rides on viruses. Once inside, they can replicate and spread undisturbed.

Virus research is still in its relative infancy. Only a fraction of all viruses occurring in nature are known, especially those that cause diseases in humans, domestic animals and crops.

Are viruses alive? Why a seemingly simple biology question prompts heated debate among scientists According to some criteria, viruses meet the basic definitions for "life"; according to others ...

Not so selfish after all: Viruses use freeloading genes as weapons Phage viruses, which are increasingly used to treat antibiotic resistance, gain an advantage by cutting off a competitor's ...

“It’s quite clear that humans are exposed to all kinds of viruses throughout our lives. And I think we’re only starting to figure out why they’re there, what they’re doing, and what ...