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Antibodies inside a glowing sphere above a branching immune tree

How Your Immune System Learns: Evolution Running in Real Time

How Your Immune System Learns: Evolution Running in Real Time Series: New Immunology | Part: 2 of 8 Primary Tag: FRONTIER SCIENCE Keywords: V(D)J recombination, clonal selection, somatic hypermutation, affinity maturation, immune memory The Generation of Diversity The core problem: you need antibodies (and T cell receptors) that can

Dense lattice of glowing blue and pink immune network nodes

The New Immunology

The New Immunology Your Immune System Is Smarter Than You Think—And We're Only Now Learning Its Language The Series The Two Arms of Immunity: Fast and Slow, General and SpecificThe fundamental division in immune responseIdeasthesiaRyan CollisonHow Your Immune System Learns: Evolution Running in Real TimeIntroduction to immune

Small cell connecting to a large activated immune cell with glowing granules

Trained Immunity: Memory Without Memory Cells

Trained Immunity: Memory Without Memory Cells Series: New Immunology | Part: 3 of 8 Primary Tag: FRONTIER SCIENCE Keywords: trained immunity, BCG vaccine, innate immune memory, epigenetics, monocytes, macrophages The Discovery The modern story of trained immunity begins with Mihai Netea at Radboud University in the Netherlands. In 2011, his team

Antibody breaking the link between a purple immune cell and a red cancer cell

Checkpoint Inhibitors: Releasing the Brakes on Cancer

Checkpoint Inhibitors: Releasing the Brakes on Cancer Series: New Immunology | Part: 4 of 8 Primary Tag: FRONTIER SCIENCE Keywords: checkpoint inhibitors, PD-1, CTLA-4, cancer immunotherapy, James Allison, Tasuku Honjo, Nobel Prize The Checkpoint Problem Your immune system can absolutely kill cancer cells. Cancer cells are mutated, abnormal, producing

Human figure mapped with glowing red and blue bioelectric currents

The Bioelectric Code

The Bioelectric Code Your Body Runs on Electricity—And It Matters More Than You Think The Series Your Cells Are Batteries: The Electrical Nature of LifeIntroduction to bioelectric signaling beyond neuronsIdeasthesiaRyan CollisonThe Voltage of Life: Membrane Potential and Cell FateVmem and bioelectric pattern formationIdeasthesiaRyan CollisonIon Channels and Gap Junctions: The

Flowing immune network linking gut, brain and a body silhouette

The Language of Immunity: A Synthesis

The Language of Immunity: A Synthesis Series: New Immunology | Part: 8 of 8 Primary Tag: FRONTIER SCIENCE Keywords: immunology, systems biology, information processing, coherence, self-recognition The Immune System as Cognitive System The parallels between immunity and cognition are striking: Both generate hypotheses about the world. The adaptive immune system

Virus scattering particles along an acute-to-chronic arrow toward brain and lungs

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?