Almost without exception, whenever 2 or more living cells interact in a specific way, cell surface carbohydrates will be involved. (source - Bio Technology, John Hodgson, 1990) In just the last decade we've learned more about how cells communicate: "Words" used to communicate are formed when carbohydrate (glyco) molecules attach to protein stems and become glycoproteins. Glycoproteins facilitate communication inside and outside the cell. Cells communicate their needs when proteins within the cell have specific carbohydrates attached to them. These glycoproteins penetrate the cell wall and contain the messages expressing the cell's needs. These glycoprotein messages can be read by other cells, this cell-to-cell communication occurs. Once scientist discovered the language of the cell, the next step was to identify the alphabet that composes this language.