fromwww.scientificamerican.com
2 days agoCells Have a Death Switch That Protects Us from Viruses but Also Leads to Aging
Now researchers have discovered that a special group of about 100 immune proteins hangs out inside every cell in the body, where these proteins do nothing but wait. Then, when a virus breaks in, it seeds a crystal, and the proteins instantly clump around it, forming a scaffold for enzymes known as caspases to activate and immediately initiate cell death.
Science