## The “glue” holding your cells together has a surprising second job A protein best known for helping cells and tissues stay connected has another unexpected role. Researchers have found that it also helps epithelial cells, which form continuous sealed layers throughout the body, engulf nearby dead cells. The discovery could have implications for chronic inflammation. Debris from dying cells is a major contributor to inflammatory responses, so understanding how tissues remove that material may reveal new clues about what happens when the cleanup process fails. The study, published in Nature…