Archaea are a major domain of prokaryotic microorganisms characterized by unique molecular and biochemical features distinguishing them from Bacteria and Eukarya. Their cell membranes typically contain ether-linked isoprenoid lipids, and their cell walls lack peptidoglycan, instead incorporating diverse polymers such as pseudomurein or S-layer proteins. Archaeal information-processing machinery (DNA replication, transcription, and translation) shows higher homology to eukaryotic systems than to bacterial counterparts. Archaea occupy a wide range of environments, including extreme habitats and moderate ecosystems, and play critical roles in biogeochemical cycles, notably methanogenesis and ammonia oxidation, making them important topics in microbial ecology, evolution, and environmental genomics.
QUT researchers have recovered the genomes of more than 24,000 previously unknown microbial species—some from entirely new branches of life that likely evolved before plants and animals. The microbes are detailed in two studies ...
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 13, 2025
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A quest to discover new antibiotics is taking a Cal Poly biochemistry research team back in time millions of years as they study ancient microorganisms.
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 13, 2025
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A study led by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Professor Alexandre Rosado has revealed an unusual microbial world in the Hatiba Mons hydrothermal vent fields of the central Red Sea, a site first ...
Ecology
Oct 20, 2025
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New fossil research shows how human impacts, particularly through the rise of agriculture and livestock, have disrupted natural mammal communities as profoundly as the Ice Age extinctions.
Ecology
Sep 30, 2025
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Earth was not always the blue-green world we know today: early Earth's oxygen levels were about a million times lower than we now experience. There were no forests and no animals. For ancient organisms, oxygen was toxic. ...
Ecology
Sep 25, 2025
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Research by microbiologists Martijn Wissink and Cornelia Welte of Radboud University, among others, is helping us understand how microorganisms regulate the methane balance. The scientists have demonstrated how a methane-converting ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 10, 2025
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The icy world of Antarctica might not be enticing to us, but it's bustling with microscopic life. Scientists recently got a detailed glimpse at the genetics of a diverse range of microorganisms hidden beneath the West Antarctic ...
The movement of genetic material between organisms that aren't directly related is a significant driver of evolution, especially among single-celled organisms like bacteria and archaea. A team led by researchers at Bigelow ...
Evolution
Sep 6, 2025
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167
How did life leap from simple microbial cells to the complex, structured cells that make up animals, plants, and fungi? A new study in The EMBO Journal by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) offers fresh ...
Evolution
Aug 15, 2025
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110
As bacteria become increasingly resistant to antibiotics and other antibacterials, there is a growing need for alternatives. In a study published in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, Tobias Warnecke and colleagues from ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 14, 2025
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