It's not just snot! : Mucus: Nature's Multifaceted Secretion

Corey A Stevens^{1

2}, Katharina Ribbeck³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA. coreyste@mit.edu.
² Department of Biological Engineering, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA. coreyste@mit.edu.
³ Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA. ribbeck@mit.edu.

Corey A Stevens et al. EMBO Rep. 2026.

. 2026 Mar 13.

doi: 10.1038/s44319-026-00729-0. Online ahead of print.

Corey A Stevens^{1

2}, Katharina Ribbeck³

¹ Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA. coreyste@mit.edu.
² Department of Biological Engineering, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA. coreyste@mit.edu.
³ Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA. ribbeck@mit.edu.

No abstract available

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure and competing interests statement. The authors declare no competing interests.

1. Bakshani CR, Morales-Garcia AL, Althaus M, Wilcox MD, Pearson JP et al (2018) Evolutionary conservation of the antimicrobial function of mucus: a first defence against infection. NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes 4(1):14 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
1. Bej R, Stevens CA, Nie C, Ludwig K, Degen GD et al (2024) Mucus-inspired self-healing hydrogels: a protective barrier for cells against viral infection. Adv Mater 36(32):2401745 - DOI
1. Brau F, Lanterbecq D, Zghikh L-N, Bels V, Damman P (2016) Dynamics of prey prehension by chameleons through viscous adhesion. Nat Phys 12(10):931–935 - DOI
1. Brown BE, Bythell JC (2005) Perspectives on mucus secretion in reef corals. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 296:291–309 - DOI
1. Button B, Goodell HP, Atieh E, Chen Y-C, Williams R et al (2018) Roles of mucus adhesion and cohesion in cough clearance. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 115(49):12501–12506 - DOI - PubMed - PMC