viruses

Examine evolution over the course of years or centuries, and you’ll find that it progresses much more quickly than it does over geologic time.

Without viruses, we might never have evolved.

A virus that causes crippling birth defects has been shown to do something else: It changes thousands of messages coming from DNA that control normal cellular activities.

Scientists are having a difficult time finding a treatment for the Zika virus in part because so few drugs are safe for pregnant women. But one antibiotic has shown promise.

Researchers are racing to understand how the Zika virus causes birth defects. Their first results have revealed tantalizing clues about how the virus interferes with the developing brain — and how it might be stopped.

A new understanding of viral swarms is helping researchers predict how viruses will evolve and where disease is likely to spread.

In the few decades since viruses were first found in the oceans, scientists have only been able to identify a handful of species. A new survey has uncovered nearly all the rest.

An infection sweeping through Australia’s struggling koala population provides an unprecedented opportunity to explore how retroviruses insert themselves into the genome.

Newly discovered patterns in evolution may help scientists make accurate short-term predictions.