How the Immune System Works
by Lauren M. Sompayrac · first published 2002
10mentions
8recommended by
8HN commenters
2017–2025first – last mentioned
100% recommend
Why HN recommends it
Readable, lean primer on how the immune system works, praised for explaining concepts clearly without dumbing them down; a good fit for students and anyone wanting a concise introduction before a bigger textbook.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…only asking questions". It's no surprise when you've seen a 10:1 ratio of bad actors to good (or worse), one might get a little exasperated. In any case, I've recently been reading Lauren Sompayrac's "How the Immune System Works", and it's a technical overview of the immune system. It's not going to make you into a full blown immunologist, but it will give you the answers to most the questions you ask above, and a framework…
on “Linus Torvalds on mRNA Vaccines” ↗…bone marrow to form a long-term memory-library of previously activated antibodies. There are actually two separate systems: the T cells and B cells. I recommend the very readable Lauren Sompayrac's "How the Immune System Works". Or google/wiki "clonal selection" and "VDJ recombination".
on “CRISPR eliminates HIV-1 infection in live animals” ↗I can only recommend one, but very good: How the Immune System Works by Lauren Sompayrac https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/940153.How_the_Immune_Sy...
on “Adult immune systems ‘remember’ germs to which they’ve never been exposed (2013)” ↗I don’t know the post you’re referring to but I highly recommend How the Immune System Works by Lauren Sompayrac. It explains the interesting parts without getting bogged down in the details of every signalling pathway, but without dumbing things down too much.
on “Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2025” ↗I'd use Abbas' Immunology as a standard textbook and Sompayrac's How The Immune System Works as a more straightforward, lean book on the immune system.
on “Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2025” ↗“How the immune system works”, Lauren Sompayrac
on “Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2025” ↗…significantly change the surface antigens targeted by these vaccines will also 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…
on “18.7 Million Americans Vaccinated” ↗…Strikes the right balance between including pertinent information without being overwhelming, explaining things in a digestible way without dumbing down, etc. Inspired me to read a proper immunology primer (How the Immune System Works), which was also very good. * How Rights Went Wrong. An excellent, level-headed take on the U.S. conception of rights, and how it leads to zero-sum thinking in supreme court cases. The author is so relentlessly…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2022 and recommend for 2023” ↗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 wrong at a high level. May be worth checking out as well. [1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41806641-an-elegant-defe...
on “Wonderful Progress Against Severe Lupus” ↗Yes: https://www.wiley.com/en-us/How+the+Immune+System+Works%2C+6...
on “Linus Torvalds on mRNA Vaccines” ↗