«These cells
resemble human nerve cells that innervate joints,» said team leader Professor Boaz Cook, who is an assistant professor at TSRI, «and they encode joint - angle information in the same way.»
In one well - studied example, the bacteria called Campylobacter jejuni, a common cause of food poisoning, carries a lipid molecule on its outer coat that
resembles so - called gangliosides, molecules that help
human nerve cells recognize and communicate with each other.