For much of modern biology, scientists argued that viruses are not alive, pointing to a basic limitation: they cannot make proteins on their own and must depend entirely on the cells they infect for ...

In a new study, published in Cell, researchers describe a newfound mechanism for creating proteins in a giant DNA virus, comparable to a mechanism in eukaryotic cells. The finding challenges the dogma ...

Researchers identified how the poxvirus protein VITF-3 forms a molecular ring that clamps onto DNA with viral RNA polymerase, ...

This story is part of a larger series on viroids and virusoids, small infectious RNAs. It is also the sixth installment in a series on hepatitis D virus, a virusoid-like pathogen that causes serious ...

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection dramatically remodels the host cell's nuclear structures. Infection leads to ...

This story is part of a larger series on viroids and virusoids, small infectious RNAs. It is also the fifth installment in a series on hepatitis D virus, a virusoid-like pathogen that causes serious ...

Human norovirus, a positive-strand RNA virus that is the leading cause of viral gastroenteritis accounting for an estimated 685 million cases and approximately 212,000 deaths globally per year, has no ...

Researchers have shown for the first time how Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCV), which causes an aggressive skin cancer called Merkel cell carcinoma, initiates DNA replication in host cells. University ...

A giant virus discovered in Japan is adding fuel to the provocative idea that viruses helped create complex life. Named ushikuvirus, it infects amoebae and shows unique traits that connect different ...

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne orthoflavivirus that can cause birth defects, including microcephaly, a condition in which head and brain size are significantly reduced at birth. The collective ...