Our single-celled ancestor lived in a world without plants, animals or oxygen-rich oceans. Yet, this seemingly simple microorganism took the first steps toward complex life. From this ancestor emerged ...

Scientists are trying to understand how complex life emerged on Earth about 2 billion years ago. Our microbial ancestors could be the key.

Scientists are one step closer to understanding the origins of complex life on Earth after shedding new light on a mystery about our microbial ancestors. The key, they suspect, may lie in how simple ...

The microbiome-the trillions of bacteria, viruses, and fungi that live quietly in our body-plays a crucial role in shaping human health by providing a variety of micronutrients necessary for vital ...

Bacteria aren’t just mindless microbes. Research by scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has revealed that single bacterial cells can carry a “memory” of their past environments—passing it ...

Ancient microbial activity preserved in wrinkled seafloor sediments challenges assumptions about where traces of early life can survive.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a deadly cancer with particularly high prevalence in East Asia. While immunotherapy has emerged as a promising treatment, many patients fail to ...

Cyst-like resting cells The pioneer phase, or the initial stage of ecological succession, begins when microbial life starts re-establishing itself in the burned soil environment. Early in succession, ...

The first life on Earth formed four billion years ago, as microbes living in pools and seas: what if the same thing happened on Mars? If it did, how would we prove it? Scientists hoping to identify ...