(May 8, 2015) Decorating
the outside of cells like tiny antenna, a diverse community of sugar molecules
acts like a telecommunications system, sending and receiving information,
recognizing and responding to foreign molecules and neighboring cells.
“The sugar part of our biomembranes are as crucial to our
health as our DNA, and yet we know almost nothing about it,” said Virgil
Percec, a professor of chemistry in the University of Pennsylvania School of
Arts and Sciences.