These microbes endured the unlivable. The NASA astrobiologist who studies them reveals what that means for us today

A long view of biological survival might point us to new possibilities for finding life elsewhere in the Universe.

Known as the Great Oxygenation Event, Earth froze over as oxygen accumulated in our atmosphere, nearly driving all life extinct.

New DNA analyses raise questions over the theory that Christopher Columbus and his men brought syphilis to Europe.

Scientists agree that eons ago, a bacterium took up residence inside another cell and became its powerhouse, the mitochondrion. But there are competing theories about the birth of other organelles such as the nucleus and endoplasmic reticulum.

Researchers estimate there may be as many as ten million trillion trillion phages on Earth — that's 10 with 30 zeros after it.

A secret to a long, healthy life may lie in the diversity of gut viruses, which can supercharge bacterial metabolism and resist disease.

The prescription poop can correct life-threatening bacterial imbalances in the gut.

It weakens the bacteria so that the immune system can destroy it.

Bathybius haeckelii was briefly thought to be the link between inorganic matter and organic life.

Probably not. Even though we're still investigating the origin of life, the evidence suggests that cells came much later.

Intracellular bacteria promote cancer metastasis by enhancing the tumor cells' resistance to mechanical stress in the bloodstream

A gigantic bacterium evolved differently than fundamental models of biology would have predicted. Simply put, these bacteria shouldn't exist.

This Yale researcher is creating an experimental therapy for cystic fibrosis made from viruses - and it’s working.

We’re a long way from the beginnings of life on Earth. Here’s the key to how we got there. The Universe was already two-thirds of its present age by the time […]