The microbe Pyrodictium abyssi is an archaeon—a member of what's known as the third domain of life—and an extremophile. It lives in deep-sea thermal vents, at temperatures above the boiling point of ...

The tiny pantheon known as the Asgard archaea bear traits that hint at how plants, animals and fungi emerged on Earth.

Ten years ago, nobody knew that Asgard archaea even existed. In 2015, however, researchers examining deep-sea sediments discovered gene fragments that indicated a new and previously undiscovered form ...

An artist’s depiction of an Asgard archaeon, based on cryo-electron tomography data: the cell body and appendages feature thread-like skeletal structures, similar to those found in complex cells with ...

Scientists from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich) revealed key details about the evolution of life on Earth by studying microorganisms known as Asgard archaea. The study ...