Tuesday, June 30, 2026
Science

'Spiderman' cells trap viral genomes in their web

Scientists have discovered a defensive method of cells that resembles Spiderman shooting his web to ensnare enemies. These cells defend our bodies from the early stages of viral infection by synthesizing a sticky "web" to trap viral genomes. The paper is published on the bioRxiv preprint server and...

'Spiderman' cells trap viral genomes in their web
Image: Phys.org
Scientists have discovered a defensive method of cells that resembles Spiderman shooting his web to ensnare enemies. These cells defend our bodies from the early stages of viral infection by synthesizing a sticky "web" to trap viral genomes. The paper is published on the bioRxiv preprint server and shows a novel way in which our cells deploy this superhero technique to counter the processes that begin within minutes of a virus infecting a cell.

Originally published at Phys.org

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