Welcome to the Cave…
Review #1: Deadly Outbreaks
Ever wonder how teams of scientists and medical experts find the root of a mysterious outbreak? Alexandra Levitt, PhD, former NYU School of Medicine faculty member and current outbreak expert at the CDC, tells the story of seven recent and unusual outbreaks in the United States. In doing so, she sheds light on the work of “medical detectives,” experts in medicine, public health, epidemiology, infectious diseases and more, who come together to solve these public health mysteries in surprisingly creative ways. It is especially inspiring to anyone working towards a career in any aspect of human health and especially infectious diseases!
Review #2: Could Alzheimer’s be considered an autoimmune disease?
Did you know that Alzheimer's disease may possibly be considered an autoimmune disorder? Check out this fascinating article, featuring Dr. Vanessa Meier-Stephenson from the University of Alberta's Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry!
Here are some of the key points summarized:
The innate immune system may be involved,
Amyloid beta, the protein responsible for Alzheimer's, also has an immune function against viruses and bacteria in an AMP fashion
In response to PAMP/DAMP stimulating events, amyloid plaque is can induce autoimmunity through attacking self neurons as they have some similarities to bacteria
Click on the link below to view the original article!
Review #3: MHC May Play a Role in Attraction!
MHC's may have a larger role past just immunity and transplantations – Did you know that MHC may also play a role in ATTRACTION? Claus Wedekind in 1995 did an experiment where men in college wore T-shirts for two nights and then women in college smelled the T-shirts and classified them based on preference of smell. They found that the women preferred the scents of men with different MHCs from their own.
Read about it here
Here is the abstract for the actual study.
Here is a follow up abstract written by Dr. Claus Wedekind.
Review #4: My Wife and Kids
My Wife and Kids is a sitcom that ran from 2001 to 2005. In "Outbreak Monkey," an episode from season 4, one of the main characters desperately does all that they can to avoid getting sick so they can go see famous NBA Allstar Lebron James in action. It is super relatable as we try to stay safe from cold and flu season, and actually quite fun to watch from an immunology perspective!
Watch the full episode on YouTube here (be careful not to read the description since there are spoilers!)
All episodes of the show are also available on Disney+!