When the first cells appeared on Earth approximately 3.8 billion years ago[1], viruses were already here to greet them[2]. Ever since, viruses have been devising ways to infect cells, and cells have been responding by evolving ways to stop these infections. This evolutionary dance eventually led to the development of your immune system.
A...
Employers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics – commonly called the STEM industries – continue to struggle to attract female applicants[1]. In its 2024 jobs report, the National Science Board found that men outnumber women[2] almost 3-to-1 in STEM jobs that require at least a bachelor’s degree and over 8-to-1 in STEM jobs...
The questions of how humankind came to be, and whether we are alone in the universe, have captured imaginations for millennia[1]. But to answer these questions, scientists must first understand life itself and how it could have arisen.
In our work as evolutionary biochemists[2] and protein historians[3], these core questions form the foundation...