Meet the jumbo phage. Scientists believe they’ve cracked the code on how its ‘secret handshakes’ act as a shield against the ...

Phages are viruses that attack bacteria by injecting their DNA, then usurping bacterial machinery to reproduce. Eventually, ...

shows that the protein shield works via a set of “secret handshakes,” allowing only a specific set of useful proteins to pass through. The handshakes involve a large, central protein capable of using ...

"It's like a secret handshake between two friends," said Bondy-Denomy ... another a finger, another a different finger. This variety of combinations allows the group of importer proteins to recognize ...

"It's like a secret handshake between two friends," said Bondy ... another a finger, another a different finger. This variety of combinations allows the group of importer proteins to recognize ...

But first, scientists will need to teach the viruses a secret handshake. Viruses don't technically ... unique "hands," each of which fits with a different type of protein the phage might encounter ...

“It’s like a secret handshake between two friends,” said ... another a finger, another a different finger. This variety of combinations allows the group of importer proteins to recognize ...