A viral grappling hook: Flu virus attacks like a pirate boarding party
Thursday, March 21, 2013 - 07:00
in Health & Medicine
(Phys.org) —Viruses are biological pirates, invading cells and hijacking their machinery to reproduce and infect again. Research at Harvard Medical School is shedding new light on the battle line where viral and cell membranes meet, and the key role of a protein grappling hook with which the influenza virus commandeers its prize—your cells.