A new kind of microscope is giving scientists a way to watch life inside cells with a clarity that feels almost unfair.

In many submerged regions, murky mud shelters strange life-forms that seem to be the key to one of the biggest mysteries of life on Earth. These creatures belong to a domain of life called the archaea ...

A large genetic screen has revealed how stem cells transform into brain cells, exposing hundreds of genes that make this ...

Billions of years of evolution have made modern cells incredibly complex. Inside cells are small compartments called organelles that perform specific functions essential for the cell’s survival and ...

Life begins with a single fertilized cell that gradually transforms into a multicellular organism. This process requires ...

The death of an organism does not spell the end for its cells, according to new research. Cells have been shown to continue to function even after the organism they originated from is deceased, often ...

Life and death are traditionally viewed as opposites. But the emergence of new multicellular life-forms from the cells of a dead organism introduces a “third state” that lies beyond the traditional ...

Scientists are exploring ways to mimic the origins of human life without two fundamental components: sperm and egg. They are coaxing clusters of stem cells – programmable cells that can transform into ...

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. For a molecule of RNA, the world is a dangerous place. Unlike DNA, which can persist for millions of years in its remarkably stable, ...

The origin of life on Earth becomes even more fascinating and complex as we peer into the mysterious world of viruses.