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Long COVID and Cytokine Storms: When the Immune System Won't Stand Down

Long COVID and Cytokine Storms: When the Immune System Won't Stand Down

Here's a puzzle that emerged from the pandemic: why do some people recover from COVID-19 in days, while others—even those with mild initial infections—develop symptoms that last for months or years? The answer appears to be immune dysregulation. Not infection persisting, but the immune response itself

When the Immune System Attacks Itself: Autoimmunity and the Failure of Tolerance

When the Immune System Attacks Itself: Autoimmunity and the Failure of Tolerance

Series: New Immunology | Part: 6 of 8 Primary Tag: FRONTIER SCIENCE Keywords: autoimmunity, tolerance, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, lupus, regulatory T cells The immune system's fundamental job is discrimination: self versus non-self, dangerous versus harmless. Get it right, and you're protected from infections while leaving your

Planarian Regeneration: The Champion Regenerators

Planarian Regeneration: The Champion Regenerators

Series: Bioelectric Code | Part: 5 of 7 Primary Tag: FRONTIER SCIENCE Keywords: planaria, regeneration, stem cells, bioelectric memory, morphogenesis, Michael Levin Cut a planarian flatworm in half. Each half regenerates into a complete worm. Cut it into twenty pieces. You get twenty complete worms. Cut off its head. It grows

Morphogenetic Fields: How Bodies Know Their Shape

Morphogenetic Fields: How Bodies Know Their Shape

Series: Bioelectric Code | Part: 4 of 7 Primary Tag: FRONTIER SCIENCE Keywords: morphogenetic fields, pattern formation, bioelectric gradients, positional information, developmental biology Here's a question that seems simple but is actually profound: How does a developing organism know what shape to become? Genes encode proteins. Proteins do things.

The Voltage of Life: Membrane Potential and Cell Fate

The Voltage of Life: Membrane Potential and Cell Fate

Series: Bioelectric Code | Part: 2 of 7 Primary Tag: FRONTIER SCIENCE Keywords: membrane potential, Vmem, depolarization, hyperpolarization, cell fate, differentiation In the 1930s, researchers discovered something curious about cancer cells: their membrane potential was different from normal cells. Cancer cells were depolarized—their voltage was less negative than healthy tissue.

Your Cells Are Batteries: The Electrical Nature of Life

Your Cells Are Batteries: The Electrical Nature of Life

Series: Bioelectric Code | Part: 1 of 7 Primary Tag: FRONTIER SCIENCE Keywords: bioelectricity, membrane potential, ion pumps, cellular electricity, Vmem When you think of electricity in biology, you probably think of neurons firing, hearts beating, eels shocking prey. These are the dramatic electrical events—action potentials, the stuff of neuroscience

The Bioelectric Future: A Synthesis

The Bioelectric Future: A Synthesis

Series: Bioelectric Code | Part: 7 of 7 Primary Tag: FRONTIER SCIENCE Keywords: bioelectricity, regenerative medicine, developmental biology, Michael Levin, biological computation, coherence Every cell in your body is running a voltage. This isn't metaphor. It's physics. Ion gradients across cell membranes create electrical potential differences—typically