
Influenza viruses may have originated in fish 600 million years ago
1 March 2023
A flu virus found in a sturgeon resembles the predicted ancestor of all known forms of influenza, hinting that the virus first evolved in fish

1 March 2023
A flu virus found in a sturgeon resembles the predicted ancestor of all known forms of influenza, hinting that the virus first evolved in fish

18 June 2020
A 110-year-old measles genome has helped date the origin of the disease to about 500 BC, which is roughly when humans began living in cities with large populations

27 June 2018
What distinguishes a human from a virus from an inert rock? There are many definitions for what it means to be alive – and soon humanity might fail some

22 February 2018
Bats can carry viruses like Ebola and Marburg that are lethal for humans. This may be because, in order to fly, their bodies have given up on fighting such viruses

19 February 2018
A woman in China has been infected by a new type of flu. With thousands of people travelling after Chinese new year, the risk of new strains spreading is high

21 August 2017
Viruses are not like other organisms and nobody is quite sure where they originated, but a newly discovered single-celled organism seems to offer a clue