An Elegant Defense
by Matt Richtel · first published 2019
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"A groundbreaking narrative exploration of the human immune system--the key to human health and longevity--from the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist and acclaimed author of A Deadly Wandering"-- The immune system is a guardian vigilantly fighting illness, healing wounds, maintaining order and balance, and keeping us alive. Richtel interweaves the stories of four people: a terminal cancer patient who rises from the grave; a medical marvel who defies HIV; two women with autoimmunity who discover their own bodies have turned against them. As he leads us from the Black Plague to t
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…about cancer. This is sometimes emotionally tough, but I like that I can now better help my mother navigate the medical complexities. Cancer is also an interesting gateway into immunology. I recommend “Elegant Defense” by Matt Richtel - I spent a lot of energy organizing professional care (e.g., nurses, food l). This means that my support for her now feels of a higher quality. - I am helping my mum keep track of…
on “Ask HN: Coping with cancer in the family” ↗I've not read it myself, but An Elegant Defense [1] by Matt Richtel has come highly recommended to me. My understanding is that it takes a more human-interest angle, but also does a good job explaining how the immune system works and how it can go…
on “Wonderful Progress Against Severe Lupus” ↗…mean the virus either becomes less contagious or less deadly. If you’re truly interested I highly recommend this book on how the immune system works, full of excellent sources. https://www.amazon.com/Elegant-Defense-Extraordinary-Science... More technical information on Wikipedia’s immunity sections: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_immune_system https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antigen https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antibody…
on “18.7 Million Americans Vaccinated” ↗For anyone curious to learn more about our immune system I highly recommend the book "An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System". It will really open your eyes into how complex, and in most cases unknown, our immune system is. It's fascinating what sort of internal defenses arise out of the chemical soup of billions of years…
on “People with hidden immunity against Covid-19” ↗