Articles on Immune response

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Regulatory T cells (red) interact with other immune cells (blue) and modulate immune responses. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/NIH via Flickr

How does your immune system stay balanced? A Nobel Prize‑winning answer

Regulatory T cells help your immune system distinguish between ‘self’ and ‘nonself’ – and can open doors to better treatments for cancer, autoimmune disease and transplant rejection.
Public health experts worry that factually inaccurate statements by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. threaten the public’s confidence in vaccines. Andrew HarnikGetty Images

I’m a physician who has looked at hundreds of studies of vaccine safety, and here’s some of what RFK Jr. gets wrong

The health secretary has made many inaccurate statements about vaccines. But the science is clear that vaccines have dramatically reduced childhood illness, disability and death.
Addressing the increased risks of certain diseases among those with Down syndrome could help improve their quality of life. Halfpoint Images/Moment via Getty Images

Several Down syndrome features may be linked to a hyperactive antiviral immune response – new research

People with Down syndrome have an extra chromosome 21. Understanding the effects of those triplicated genes could help improve the health of those with Down syndrome and other medical conditions.
Insect bites or stings, like the one on this person’s hand, are a manifestation of inflammation. Suthep Wongkhad/EyeEm via Getty Images

What is inflammation? Two immunologists explain how the body responds to everything from stings to vaccination and why it sometimes goes wrong

Inflammation is a complicated and important part of how the immune system responds to threats to the body. But when the inflammatory response goes awry, it can lead to serious problems.
Researchers can test blood samples taken for other reasons to see if patients have previously had COVID-19. Don Bartletti/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

COVID‑19 official counts can miss mild cases – here’s how serosurveys that analyze blood for signs of past infection can help

Your blood can hold a record of past illnesses. That information can reveal how many people have had a certain infection – like 58% of Americans having had COVID-19 by the end of February 2022.
Emergency medical technicians aid a COVID-19 patient at his home in Louisville, Kentucky. Like much of the U.S., Louisville is experiencing an uptick in COVID-19 patients requiring emergency transport to medical facilities. John Cherry/Getty Images

New treatments for COVID‑19 may stave off the worst effects of the virus

Medications to treat COVID-19 are in no way a substitute for the vaccine. But under the right circumstances, some show great promise for helping patients.

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