comprehensive -WSS

comprehensive

author：knowledge 2025-08-12 06:45:18 - browse：14

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： Wildfire smoke exposes gaps in outdoor worker protections
Next article： Second xenotransplant done with gene

WSS

CDC's new outbreak response network to include Northeastern

What Congress can do to address the rural doctor shortage

There's an unseen cost to disruptive road

CDC advisers recommend seasonal use of Pfizer RSV shot

Medicare bonuses could stop drug shortages under Senate plan

It's been 20 years since Dolly the sheep. Where's my clone?

leisure time

comprehensive

entertainment

DIEP, the 'gold standard' of breast reconstruction, is under threat

To bolster infectious disease surveillance, genomics powerhouses team up

Indiana Supreme Court upholds abortion ban, says state constitution gives only limited protections

AstraZeneca, Daiichi breast cancer treatment succeeds in trial

At least 13 dead in Texas as scorching temps continue

There's an unseen cost to disruptive road

Wildfire smoke exposes gaps in outdoor worker protections

How AI helped researchers track recovery from depression

As demand for Covid shots wanes, Moderna seeks its next success

To bolster infectious disease surveillance, genomics powerhouses team up

focus

Biotech lab space demand falls sharply

Case for ALS therapy Nurown relies on ‘deficient’ data, FDA finds

AstraZeneca, Daiichi breast cancer treatment succeeds in trial

EpiPen alternative approval delay highlights citizen petition issue

Why are Kaiser Permanente staff considering a strike?

CDC's new outbreak response network to include Northeastern

hotspot

explore

explore

knowledge