The immune system protects us from the constant onslaught of viruses, bacteria and other types of pathogens we encounter throughout life. But it can sometimes misbehave.
A plant heavily colonized by a bacterial pathogen.
Jeannette Rapicavoli/UC Riverside
Jeannette Rapicavoli, University of California, Riverside
Vaccines aren’t just for animals anymore. Research shows priming plants with pathogen-derived compounds strengthens their immune systems and enhances protection against future attack.
Depression isn’t a single condition with a single cause.
Lee Morley/Flickr
When the measles vaccine was introduced, it was associated with reductions in more childhood disease deaths than were actually caused by the measles. How does that work?
Rates of food allergies have increased over recent decades and are at an all-time high. While we don’t know the full extent of the allergy epidemic, the rate of hospitalisation for food allergies has quadrupled…
The bacteria living in your gut have more to do with your immune system than you might think.
Knorre/Shutterstock
Your intestines are home to many different kinds of bacteria (and some non-bacterial organisms as well). Together they’re called the “gut microbiome.” They come from the food you eat – and whatever else…
Addictive drugs generate immune-like signals within the brain.
melisslissliss/Flickr
Cocaine is a popular recreational drug that makes users energetic, confident and talkative. It’s also highly addictive and dependence-producing. Australians rank fourth in the world in cocaine abuse rates…
The extent to which our personalities determine aspects of our lives and health has increasingly been the subject of research over the last few years. There was the suggestion, for example, that being…
Research into how humans choose a mate is often guided by evolutionary theory: because people’s choice of mate is assumed to have consequences for reproductive success, it must therefore be subject to…
A parasite wants to live with you, and to do that it needs to convince your body’s immune system to ignore it.
Sebastian Kaulitzki/Shutterstock
When you’re sick, you want the most effective treatment to help get you back on your feet. But what if that involved bugs? Maggots and leeches have been used for decades and are still supplied to hospitals…
The innate immune response causes the common signs of inflammation including swelling, pain, heat, redness and loss of function.
Brandon Daniel/Flickr
The immune system is critical for protecting against illness-causing organisms, such as viruses, bacteria and fungi, which are collectively known as pathogens. Without it, we would quickly become infected…
Sepsis claims the lives of 8m people worldwide each year. It is the leading cause of hospital deaths in the US, a major threat to soldiers wounded in battle and a killer of children, particularly in under-resourced…
The immune system is there to protect us from threats and infections. But to be healthy, it also needs to be tolerant of an individual’s own tissues that are harmless. If it can’t do this, the immune system…
Director, Children’s Health and Environment Program and World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Children’s Health and Environment, The University of Queensland