With the help of directed evolution, scientists inch closer to developing viral vectors that can cross the human blood-brain barrier to deliver gene therapy.

Scientists have genetically modified isolated microbes for decades. Now, using CRISPR, they intend to target entire microbiomes.

Having two different endosymbionts may allow the ciliate Pseudoblepharisma tenue to live in both oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor zones of the muddy bogs of southern Germany.

Bacteria that live in the digestive tracts of animals may influence the adaptive trajectories of their hosts.

Bacteria cooperate to benefit the collective, but cheaters can rig the system. How is the balance maintained?

George Church is at it again, this time using multiplex gene editing to create virus-proof cells, improve organ transplant success, and protect elephants.

All multicellular creatures interact with bacteria, but some have taken the relationship to another level with highly specialized structures that house, feed, and exploit the tiny organisms.

Cofounders of a microbiome biobank speak with The Scientist about their new partnership with nonprofit OpenBiome and how to ethically work with donors.

Identification of new archaea species elucidates the domain’s unique  biology and sheds light on its relationship to eukaryotes.

By tweaking certain conditions of a long-running experiment on E. coli, scientists found that some bacteria could be prompted to express a mutant phenotype sooner, without the “generation of new genetic information.” The resulting debate—whether the data support evolutionary theory—is more about semantics than science.