Andrew Darwin Laboratory website. Academic Microbiology research laboratory at NYU School of Medicine. New York, NY, USA.

Giant viruses challenge traditional boundaries of virology with their large particle sizes, complex genomes, and unique replication strategies. Yet, despite its 750 nm diameter and incorporation of do...

In contrast to living organisms, viruses were long thought to lack protein synthesis machinery and instead depend on host factors to translate viral transcripts. Here, we discover that giant DNA virus...

The Panoptes antiphage system defends bacteria by detecting phage-encoded counter-defences that sequester cyclic nucleotide signals, triggering membrane disruption and highlighting a broader strategy of sensing immune evasion through second-messenger surveillance.

Bacteria encode an enormous diversity of defense systems including restriction-modification and CRISPR-Cas that cleave nucleic acid to protect against phage infection. Bioinformatic analyses demonstra...