Rest in peace nanobacteria, you were not alive after all

Nanobacteria, extremely tiny “microorganisms” that have sparked controversy and may cause disease, have been declared dead. Again.

Some say the nanobacteria were never really alive. Once touted as the world’s smallest living organisms, and even an entirely new form of life, the entities are actually nothing more than sub-microscopic balls of minerals and proteins, independent teams of scientists in Taiwan and France report.