T cells use 'handshakes' to sort friends from foes
Thursday, May 5, 2016 - 18:31
in Biology & Nature
A 3-D rendering of a fluorescence image maps the piconewton forces applied by T cells. The height and color indicates the magnitude of the applied force. T cells, the security guards of the immune system, use a kind of mechanical "handshake" to test whether a cell they encounter is a friend or foe, a new study finds.