Immune
by Philipp Dettmer · first published 2021
86% recommend14% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Accessible, pop-science tour of how the immune system works, conveying its awe-inspiring complexity in a style like the Kurzgesagt videos. Suits curious readers without a biology background.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Our bodies have an amazing system to defend ourselves from our deadly enemies. Hundreds of living things, working together, to protect you. Unser Körper hat ein erstaunliches System, um uns vor unseren tödlichen Feinden zu verteidigen. Hunderte von Lebewesen arbeiten zusammen, um Sie zu schützen.
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I would heartily recommend Immune by Dettmer [0] if you are interested in how your immune system works. Fascinating read. [0] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57423646-immune
on “Why is inflammation a dangerous necessity?” ↗Best reference is the book "Immune" by Philipp Dettmer. This is discussed in-depth in the chapter "The Hygiene Hypothesis and Old Friends."
on “Woman appears cured of HIV after umbilical-cord blood transplant” ↗there has been some really incredible progress in immunology recently. my partner deals with some immune system issues and the new therapies have made an incredible change in her quality of life, though there's still a long way to go. i am a mere programmer so my understanding is limited but i was really…
on “Wonderful Progress Against Severe Lupus” ↗Only tangentially related, but I’ve been reading and enjoying Immune by Philipp Dettmer (founder of the YouTube channel Kurzgesagt). Would recommend it to anyone that likes to read about the fascinatingly complex processes the human body uses to keep itself ticking.
on “DNA seen through the eyes of a coder” ↗"How Bad are Bananas" by Mike Berners-lee (Tims brother). A great and easy read with the aim of putting the carbon footprint of things into perspective. "Immune" by Philipp Dettmer (founder of Kurzgesagt). Deep dives into aspects of the immune system, particularly of interest after the COVID-19 pandemic.
on “Ask HN: What are some of the best books you have read in 2022?” ↗I read about this process in the Immune book by Dettmer. Your dendritic cells are specialized to ingest pathogens, rip them apart with peroxide, then push their broken parts into cellular windows all over the dendritic cell's surface. The…
on “The great Covid and smoking cover-up” ↗> The immune system is a giant random number generator. Your body randomly generates antibody patterns in the womb, so everyone is different. I read about this in the book "Immune" [0], and it blew my mind. I just…
on “The groundbreaking plan to map the entire human immune system” ↗I can follow what you are saying because of what I learned in the book Immune by Philipp Dettmer, which I highly recommend for a popular-level introduction to the complexities of the immune system. The whole bit about the "presentation windows" that cells use to communicate if…
on “The human body has 1.8T cells dedicated to defending it” ↗"Immune: A Journey Into the Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive" by Philipp Dettmer I never really clicked with biology in school - but learning about systems is always fun. A bit of a pop-sci read on the…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2023 and recommend for 2024” ↗“But no one shook me by the shoulders, saying how crazy that was.” If you’re lookin for a book that has absolutely kept this sense of wonder, “Immune” by Philipp Dettmer has this in spades. Highly recommended.
on “I should have loved biology (2020)” ↗…prevalence of vaccine hesitancy... Enabling parents to foster unvaccinated children is a guarantee that we'll get a resurgence of this type of disease. I recommend everyone educate themselves on our immune system, a physical copy of the book "Immune" (ISBN: 1529360684) introduces the mechanics of the vast complexities in a very approachable manner. Also the podcasts through MicrobeTV by Vincent Racaniello…
on “Martha Lillard, last US polio patient using iron lung, dies at 78 in Oklahoma” ↗As a book recommendation: Immune - Journey Into the Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive by Dettmer, Philipp. Or for something a bit more immediate and casual, the Kurzgesagt playlist of immune-system videos. [0] [0] https://www.youtube.com/show/VLPLFs4vir_WsTyS2cy4vj4obl5igqC...
on “The UV index is not the warm sensation of sunlight on bare skin” ↗Immune by Phillipp Dettmer. It explains the second most complex system in the universe in enough detail to understand it.
on “Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?” ↗Can't help but to highly recommend the recent book by Philipp Dettmer, Immune: A Journey Into The Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive. It's fantastic and very readable: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08XTNHRR5/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_FX...
on “Multiple Sclerosis Causality” ↗You're welcome to that reaction. I'd recommend the book "Immune: A Journey into the Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive" by Philipp Dettmer. It has a whole chapter on the hygiene hypothesis, which parts have been debunked, which parts have weak scientific evidence,…
on “Woman appears cured of HIV after umbilical-cord blood transplant” ↗