Life, Death and the Immune System
By defining and defending the self, the immune system makes life possible; malfunction causes illness and death. Study of the system provides a unifying view of biology
Features
How the Immune System Develops
Environmental and genetic signals cue cells as they differentiate into the many lineages that recognize foreign antigens and fight off invaders
How the Immune System Recognizes Invaders
Cells of the immune system recombine gene fragments to create the millions of receptors needed to identify and attack the myriad pathogens encountered throughout life
How the Immune System Recognizes the Body
The human immune system has developed several elegant processes that allow it to repel foreign invaders and yet not attack the body itself
Infectious Diseases and the Immune System
When bacteria, viruses and other pathogens infect the body, they hide in different places. Each component of the immune system is most adept at rousting trespassers from one location...
AIDS and the Immune System
The AIDS virus exploits the immune system to replicate itself. New findings are showing how it wreaks havoc on the body's defenses
Autoimmune Disease
Misguided assaults on the self produce multiple sclerosis, juvenile diabetes and other chronic illnesses. Promising therapies are emerging
Allergy and the Immune System
In allergic individuals, parts of the immune system misdirect their power at innocuous substances, producing sometimes deadly symptoms
The Immune System as a Therapeutic Agent
New technologies and insights into the molecular underpinnings of the immune system provide the basis for novel approaches to vaccines and other therapies
Will we Survive?
As host and pathogen evolve together, will the immune system retain the upper hand?
Departments
- Letters
Letters to the Editors, September 1993
- Recommended
Monticello Redux
- 50, 100 & 150 Years Ago
50 and 100 Years Ago: High-Frequency Heating and Questions About Evolution
- Mathematical Recreation
A Shepherd Takes a Sheep Shot
- Science and the Citizen
Super Trouble
Shaking Conventional Wisdom
Jovian Jolt
Fermat's MacGuffin
Malignant Mimicry
Fads and Feds
The All-Star of Buckyball
- Departments
The Greening of Garbage
Immunology and Reciprocity
- Technology and Business
Crystal Light
Contented Cows?
Très Grande Alliance
In Vitro, in the Money
Natural Selection
Blackballing the Inner City
