Where will the next pandemic come from? One expert says his "bet is on viruses." (Getty Images/Science Photo Libra) Nearly four years after COVID-19 emerged, public health experts already say it’s not ...

Some viruses, like the common cold, are a flash in the pan. They infect us, our bodies fight back — which is what makes us sick — and then they’re gone, until the next variant rolls along. Other ...

VIVIAN, LA - DECEMBER 12: With a temperature of 103.8, Asa Moore, 6, of Vivian, Louisiana is examined by John Messier, a physician's assistant, at the North Caddo Surgical and Medical Center for ...

I’ve had it up to here with viruses lately. It’s easy in these times to wonder whether there’s anything good about them. That made me curious about why viruses exist in the first place, and where they ...

Snippets of ancient viruses are embedded in the human genome and active in many healthy tissues. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Besides serving as food for certain microbes, viruses perform some helpful functions that remain poorly understood. A ciliate, a type of single-celled microbe, swims next to Sphagnum moss, amplified ...

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their ...

Using genomics, evolutionary biologists test several hypotheses on the origin of viruses. New evidence suggests they may have emerged more times than previously thought. Corroborating the virus-first ...