The very cold, the merely chilled, and the colorful
With dogged persistence and an unwillingness to entertain defeat, Bruce Beutler discovered a receptor that powers the innate immune response to infections—and earned his share of a Nobel Prize.
Some of these insidious viruses expertly subvert the host immune system, allowing their unhindered proliferation.
Researchers and biotech companies are bringing a universal flu vaccine closer to reality.
Fat cells behave differently in obese individuals, causing inflammation and insulin resitance.
The healing powers of maggots may lie in their secreted proteins, which restrain the human immune response.
Adipose tissue plays an immune role in individuals of normal wieght.
Two species of songbirds pack their nests with scavenged cigarette butts that repel irksome parasites.
| December 1, 2012
Meet some of the people featured in the December 2012 issue of The Scientist.
Certain immune cells keep adipose tissue in check by helping to define normal and abnormal physiological states.