A new study by researchers at Kiel University and MPI-EvolBio describes how more efficient protein production drives the ...

A bizarre fossil called Prototaxites, which was the largest life-form on land 400 million years ago, may have been a completely unknown form of multicellular life, according to a new study.

Scientists in Japan have discovered a previously unknown giant virus, offering new insight into this enigmatic category of viruses – and possibly also into the origins of multicellular life. The virus ...

A study presents a striking example of cooperative organization among cells as a potential force in the evolution of multicellular life. The study is based on the fluid dynamics of cooperative feeding ...

Life emerged on Earth some 3.8 billion years ago. The “primordial soup theory” proposes that chemicals floating in pools of water, in the presence of sunlight and electrical discharge, spontaneously ...

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 ...

Extracellular DNA traps (ETs) are evolutionarily conserved antimicrobial mechanisms present in protozoa, plants, and animals. In this review, we compare their similarities in species of different taxa ...

In a groundbreaking experiment, researchers have brought a mouse to life with the help of a single-celled organism that existed long before any multicellular animals walked the earth. Genetic research ...

It’s known as the “boring billion,” a murky period in Earth’s history between 1.8 billion and 800 million years ago, when life’s complexity didn’t extend much beyond single-celled organisms. Apart ...

The complex web of life holds countless mysteries and its origins inspire endless queries. The question of which came first – the chicken or the egg – is a classic example. This biological conundrum ...