Heterokaryon

Okay kiddo, so a heterokaryon is when two different cells come together and their nuclei (the part of the cell that controls what it does) hang out together.

It's kind of like two friends having a sleepover and sharing a bedroom. They both have their own stuff, but they're in the same room together.

In the case of a heterokaryon, sometimes the two different nuclei will work together and do things like make new proteins or divide into more cells. Other times, they'll just kind of hang out and not do much.

Scientists use heterokaryons to study how different cells work and interact with each other. It can help them understand things like how diseases spread or how different types of cells in our bodies communicate with each other.