Ivan Erill receives funding from the US National Science Foundation After more than two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, you might picture a virus as a nasty spiked ball – a mindless killer that gets ...

There is an ongoing debate as to whether or not viruses are considered to be a life form. The question remains unanswered as the identity of viruses as a living form is dependent on arbitrary measures ...

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. Ever since viruses came to light in the late 1800s, scientists have set them apart from the rest of life. Viruses were far smaller than ...

It’s a common, straightforward idea in science: When a viral, bacterial, or parasitic pathogen sneaks its way into a host and tries to infect cells, the immune system detects its presence and mounts a ...