State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

viruses

  • Glacial Ice Cores Reveal 15,000 Year Old Microbes

    Glacial Ice Cores Reveal 15,000 Year Old Microbes

    Ancient ice contains a rich microbial record going back thousands of years. Recent advances have provided tools to study their genes and evolution, but climate change threatens to erase this frozen archive.

  • Keys to Success

    Keys to Success

    Humans hate to catch the flu, But here’s a fact that’s less well-known: Bacteria get infections too As many cultures have now shown.

  • Notes from an Increasingly Lonely Planet:  Humongous Killer Viruses and the New Life Form

    Notes from an Increasingly Lonely Planet: Humongous Killer Viruses and the New Life Form

    In Nature|News (18 July 2013), where one can check out the latest happenings in science, we learned that when Jean-Michel Claverie and Chantal Aberget from Aix-Marseille University in France discovered their new species of humongous killer virus, they experienced one of the most exciting things that could ever happen to any of us – they…

Blue banner with kids and Earth photos. Text: "Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Open House, Saturday, October 17, 2026, 10am-4pm.

On Saturday, October 17, 2026 from 10am to 4pm, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Open House—our biggest, best science fun and discovery event of the year—will take place on our beautiful campus in Palisades, NY. Mark your calendar and join us for this free, family-friendly celebration of science! RSVP Today!

  • Glacial Ice Cores Reveal 15,000 Year Old Microbes

    Glacial Ice Cores Reveal 15,000 Year Old Microbes

    Ancient ice contains a rich microbial record going back thousands of years. Recent advances have provided tools to study their genes and evolution, but climate change threatens to erase this frozen archive.

  • Keys to Success

    Keys to Success

    Humans hate to catch the flu, But here’s a fact that’s less well-known: Bacteria get infections too As many cultures have now shown.

  • Notes from an Increasingly Lonely Planet:  Humongous Killer Viruses and the New Life Form

    Notes from an Increasingly Lonely Planet: Humongous Killer Viruses and the New Life Form

    In Nature|News (18 July 2013), where one can check out the latest happenings in science, we learned that when Jean-Michel Claverie and Chantal Aberget from Aix-Marseille University in France discovered their new species of humongous killer virus, they experienced one of the most exciting things that could ever happen to any of us – they…