How does the immune system have existing blueprints targeting viruses it has never seen before?

What is inflammation?

We live in peak popularity of the term inflammation, so what exactly is it? - Inflammation is good for you - Did you know fever is not caused by pathogens, rather it is your immune system making you feel miserable, why does it do that? - what are the types of inflammation? Transcript at najjar.blog

What are T cells?

T cells and their types: bounty hunter, personal trainer, plumber with anxiety, lobbyist, oracle, and the patron saint of antigens For illustrations of T cells as I imagine them on this podcast, follow me on bluesky bsky.app/profile/rna-guy.bsky.social Transcript at najjar.blog Can you guess why the plumber T cells have anxiety?

What are neutrophils?

Neutrophils are the first responders of the immune system. I describe what they are and their name origin. Then I discuss neutrophil features in 5 parts including how they sometimes explode kamikaze style! - Part I: First responders - Part II: Bleach spray - Part III: Kamikaze - Part IV: Healers - Part V: Understudied

How does the immune system have existing blueprints targeting viruses it has never seen before?

Lymphocytes have surface receptors that recognize antigens. These receptors have existing templates that are complementary to the 3D structures of antigens from viruses and other pathogens, even before you encounter these pathogens. How is this possible? In this episode, I answer the question above, plus I talk about the following: - Lymphocyte types including B cells and T cells - The self vs non-self paradigm of the immune system - How can the immune system generate a large pool of lymphocyte receptors without directly encoding them from inherited DNA?

What are antibodies? And what are their functions?

What would it feel like if you were attacked by antibodies? Antibodies are custom made weapons produced by the immune system to target pathogens. In this episode, I make an analogy of how antibodies attack, and tell stories of a fox hunting rabbits, a castle under attack, and two types of leaves. These stories illustrate the functions of antibodies. Disclaimer: I am a physician scientist at the University of Washington. However, this is a personal podcast, produced in my own time and is unaffiliated with the University of Washington.