focus -WSS

focus

author：comprehensive 2025-09-07 06:43:45 - browse：6761

The human gut teems with bacteria and other colorful microbes. — NIH

One of the indignities of getting older is the way your body’s defenses against microbes begin to break down, leaving you extra vulnerable to infection. Researchers studying the ways these systems change with age refer to them collectively as “immunosenescence,” or, more poetically, the “twilight of immunity.” But even as scientific understanding of the phenomenon has grown over the past decade, the forces driving it remain murky.

One theory is that it all starts in the bone marrow, where a primitive reserve of stem cells replenishes the ranks of blood and immune cells to the tune of about 500 billion new cells every day. Some of these hematopoietic stem cells, or HSCs, are more likely to become long-lived stewards of immune memory like B cells and T cells; others are more likely to give rise to blood cells and front-line immune defenders. They all work in concert to get the balance right. As people age, though, one lineage of HSCs starts to dominate, throwing the equilibrium off-kilter.

On Wednesday, a team of scientists at Stanford University and the National Institutes of Health Rocky Mountain Laboratories reported in Nature that this age-associated imbalance in HSCs is to blame for a cascade of downstream declines in immune function. And by restoring a youthful balance of these cells with injections of antibodies, they were able to rejuvenate the immune systems of older mice — enabling them to better fend off viral attacks.

Get unlimited access to award-winning journalism and exclusive events.

Subscribe Log In

Previous article： In Memoriam: Notable people who died in 2023
Next article： Why psychiatrists like me stop taking insurance

entertainment

explore

WSS

Roche drug slashes death risk in early

STAT Summit: Ending the crisis of Black deaths in the U.S.

GSK Flovent asthma inhalers replaced by authorized generics

STAT Summit: Doctor v. ChatGPT showed AI's promise, blind spots

Is there really a nursing shortage in the U.S.?

Readout LOUD podcast: Live from the 2023 STAT Summit

focus

focus

entertainment

How one medical school became remarkably diverse

The FDA must approve intranasal treatments for anaphylaxis

In Memoriam: Notable people who died in 2023

STAT Summit: Ending the crisis of Black deaths in the U.S.

Malaria cases in Florida and Texas: Here’s what you need to know

Ahead of JPM, here's who's profiting most in health care

ChatGPT in medicine: STAT answers readers' burning questions

White House finalizes ITC's import ban of latest Apple Watches

Tori Bowie and the unacceptable rates of Black maternal death

STAT Summit: Meghan O’Rourke on making chronic illness visible

entertainment

At JPM, Bristol Myers Squibb CEO tries to soothe investor nerves

Why psychiatrists like me stop taking insurance

Readout Newsletter: AstraZeneca's CEO, Roivant's $5 billion deal

How a scoliosis diagnosis changed the life of one young dancer

The FDA must approve intranasal treatments for anaphylaxis

Feng Zhang, Grail founder join forces on new gene editing startup

entertainment

knowledge

explore

entertainment