In a newly published article in Cell , the ETH researchers discovered related structures in Asgard archaea and describe their structure. These experiments show that Asgard tubulins form very similar ...

Viruses typically aren’t considered ‘alive,’ as many core biological functions are outsourced to their hosts. But a newly discovered organism appears to straddle the line between virus and cell.

However, only a few Lokiarchaeum cells form these microtubules. And, unlike actin, these tubulin proteins only appear in very few species of Asgard archaea.

Like bacteria, archaea are single-celled organisms. Genetically, however, there are significant differences between the two domains, especially regarding their cell envelopes and metabolic processes.

These cells could settle a raging debate in evolutionary science on defining one of the most basic groups of life, domains. The three domains have long been classified as bacteria, archaea, and ...