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The Animal Origins of Coronavirus and Flu
Zoonotic diseases like influenza and many coronaviruses start out in animals, but their biological machinery often enables them to jump to humans.
New Clues About ‘Ambigram’ Viruses With Strange Reversible Genes
For decades, scientists have been intrigued by tiny viruses whose genetic material can be read both forward and backward. New research begins to explain this puzzling property.
Biodiversity Alters Strategies of Bacterial Evolution
In evolution, context is everything: Bacteria with neighbors evolve to rebuff viruses in a different way.
How to Permanently End Diseases
Smallpox was eradicated relatively quickly, but other diseases have proved harder to eliminate. The reasons are a mix of biology and psychology.
Viruses Can Scatter Their Genes Among Cells and Reassemble
Some viruses can replicate without infecting any one cell with all their genes.
Scientists Discover Nearly 200,000 Kinds of Ocean Viruses
New work raises the estimated diversity of viruses in the seas more than twelvefold and lays the groundwork for a better understanding of their impact on global nutrient cycles.
Viruses Have a Secret, Altruistic Social Life
Researchers are beginning to understand the ways in which viruses strategically manipulate and cooperate with one another.
Doudna’s Confidence in CRISPR’s Research Potential Burns Bright
Jennifer Doudna, one of CRISPR’s primary innovators, stays optimistic about how the gene-editing tool will continue to empower basic biological understanding.
‘Broadband’ Networks of Viruses May Help Bacteria Evolve Faster
A newly discovered mechanism may enable viruses to shuttle genes between bacteria 1,000 times as often as was thought — making them a major force in those cells’ evolution.