Researchers a step closer to effective heparanase inhibitor

The cellular protein heparanase plays an important role in allowing diseases, including viruses and cancers, to spread within our bodies. For this reason, researchers investigating a wide range of diseases are eager to find ...

Role of morphogens in tissue patterning in heart development

Morphogens are molecules that travel from cell to cell in order to pattern tissues in the embryo. These molecules are important not only for the embryo during development, but also for the adult during tissue repair. However, ...

COVID-19 virus uses heparan sulfate to get inside cells

A molecule known as ACE2 sits like a doorknob on the outer surfaces of the cells that line the lungs. Since January 2020, researchers have known that SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, primarily uses ...

These molecules could trap viruses inside a cell

Viruses are often used as vehicles for delivery in gene therapy because they're engineered not to damage the cell once they get there, but neglecting to consider how the virus will exit the cell could have consequences.