Members of the domain Archaea are diverse and widespread, being found not only in extreme environments, such as hot springs and deep-sea hydrothermal vents, but also in a range of moderate and aerobic ...

Arrays of clustered, regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs) are widespread in the genomes of many bacteria and almost all archaea. These arrays are composed of direct repeats that ...

Beneath the ocean floor is a desolate place with no oxygen and sunlight. Yet microbes have thrived in this environment for millions of years. Scientists have puzzled over how these microbes survive, ...

Some extremophiles are beyond extreme, thriving in conditions that would wipe out most life-forms. Piezophiles are organisms that prefer high-pressure conditions and have adapted their metabolisms ...

A research group co-led by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign predicts that a surprisingly adaptable species of marine archaea will play an important role in reshaping biodiversity in the ...

For decades, scientists have believed that complex life began when two very different microbes joined forces, eventually giving rise to plants, animals, and fungi. But one major puzzle remained: how ...