In 2015, researchers examining deep-sea sediments near the underwater volcano Loki discovered gene fragments indicating a new ...

Because they rely on hosts for a majority of functions, viruses aren’t considered alive. But entities like ‘Sukunaarchaeum ...

In the vast and often unseen world of microscopic life, a recent discovery may force scientists to rethink what it means to ...

Reference: Wollweber F, Xu J, Ponce-Toledo RI, et al. Microtubules in Asgard archaea. Cell. 2025. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.02.027. This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: ...

In fact, Asgard archaea appeared almost heaven-sent for research: they turned out to be a missing link between archaea and eukaryotes – that is, between archaea and organisms whose cells contain ...

DNA sequencing can also miss archaea depending on the DNA extraction method used. Most commercial extraction kits include lysozyme, which breaks down peptidoglycan in bacterial cell walls to split ...

It's been hypothesized that the fusion of sperm and egg cells goes back to an ancient cell that could perform a kind of genetic exchange. A new study has suggested that the process of sexual ...

An international team of microbiologists from the Medical University of Graz, the DSMZ—German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures (Braunschweig, Germany)—and the University of ...

However, only a few Lokiarchaeum cells form these microtubules. And, unlike actin, these tubulin proteins only appear in very few species of Asgard archaea. Scientists do not yet understand why ...

Life is composed of three distinct cell types: bacteria and archaea, which are both prokaryotic cells with some key differences — for example in their cell membranes and reproductive strategies — and ...

Ten years ago, nobody knew that Asgard archaea even existed. In 2015, however, researchers examining deep-sea sediments discovered gene fragments that indicated a new and previously undiscovered form ...