How the bacterial pilus works

A scavenger that protects the heart Coronary heart disease is a tale of two forms of plasma cholesterol. In contrast to the well-established ef ects of “bad” cholesterol (LDL-C), the role of “good” cholesterol (HDL-C) is mysterious. Elevated HDL-C correlates with a lower risk of heart disease, yet drugs that raise HDL-C levels do not reduce risk. Zanoni et al. found that some people with exceptionally high levels of HDL-C carry a rare sequence variant in the gene encoding the major HDL-C receptor, scavenger receptor BI. This variant destroys the receptor’s ability to take up HDL-C. Interestingly, people with Edited by Stella Hurtley I N SC IENCE J O U R NA L S RESEARCH