But what if we told you that without them, you wouldn’t exist? Ancient viruses shaped the evolution of life, embedding their ...

Ancient viral DNA in bacteria helps block new infections, offering a potential path to fight antibiotic resistance.

Around 8 percent of human DNA is made up of genetic sequences acquired from ancient viruses. These sequences, known as human endogenous retroviruses (or Hervs), date back hundreds of thousands to ...

Neanderthals may have caught the same viruses that cause modern colds, cold sores, and some cancers. It's possible ancient humans introduced these unfamiliar viruses to their relatives. Understanding ...

Human DNA is not always making us function in ways we understand. Some of our genome is just there, and we’re not sure what it does. In fact, 8% of our DNA are viruses our ancestors caught one day and ...

A modified bacteria-killing virus, known as a phage, can deliver far more DNA to human cells than is possible with existing techniques. This capacity could lead to major advances in cell and gene ...

The cold sore-causing Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV-1) hijacks human cells and reconfigures its DNA within just an hour after infection, according to a new study that may help tackle the pathogen. Viruses ...

Through cutting-edge methods and advanced artificial intelligence analysis, UNC Charlotte researchers leading a ...

MIT researchers have delivered a type of vaccine called a particulate vaccine to mice using a virus-mimicking scaffold made from particles of DNA instead of the usual protein particles. It not only ...

A tiny, four-fingered "hand" folded from a single piece of DNA can pick up the virus that causes COVID-19 for highly sensitive rapid detection and can even block viral particles from entering cells to ...

A common hallmark of viral genome replication is a high mutation rate, which can aid in their ability to evade new treatments and acquire resistance to once-effective antiviral medications. Now, a new ...

The arrival of agriculture coincided with a sharp rise in a gene variant that protected against the virus that causes winter ...