Here’s a spooky conundrum: Is a spore alive or dead? Gürol Süel, a biologist at the University of California, San Diego, wouldn’t blame you if you voted for dead: “There’s nothing to detect: no ...

A team of scientists have discovered how cells in deep lethargy decide while they sleep whether or not to return to life. The discovery, published in Science, offers lessons for understanding life in ...

Moss spores have just joined the short list of life forms proven to withstand the raw vacuum of space for months at a time, surviving unshielded on the exterior of the International Space Station and ...

A composite movie showing the phase contrast of a single spore (top left) to visualize the dormant state. A movie (top right) shows the color-coded electrochemical potential of the same spore. The ...

(This article forms a part of the Science for All newsletter that takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Subscribe now!) How far can plant life be pushed in harsh environments? Climate ...

Bacterial spores – the hardy survival structures formed by certain bacterial species – are proving to be a game changer in the field of engineered living materials (ELMs). By embedding Bacillus spores ...