Related topics: swine flu , vaccine
Immunity (medical)
hideImmunity is a biological term that describes a state of having sufficient biological defenses to avoid infection, disease, or other unwanted biological invasion. Immunity involves both specific and non-specific components. The non-specific components act either as barriers or as eliminators of wide range of pathogens irrespective of antigenic specificity. Other components of the immune system adapt themselves to each new disease encountered and are able to generate pathogen-specific immunity.
Adaptive immunity is often sub-divided into two major types depending on how the immunity was introduced. Naturally acquired immunity occurs through contact with a disease causing agent, when the contact was not deliberate, whereas artificially acquired immunity develops only through deliberate actions such as vaccination. Both naturally and artificially acquired immunity can be further subdivided depending on whether immunity is induced in the host or passively transferred from a immune host. Passive immunity is acquired through transfer of antibodies or activated T-cells from an immune host, and is short lived, usually lasts only a few months, whereas active immunity is induced in the host itself by antigen, and lasts much longer, sometimes life-long. The diagram below summarizes these divisions of immunity.
For more information about Immunity (medical), read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with immune
Preventing heart attacks by targeting the immune system
20 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- More than 300 people die of a heart attack each day and research has shown there is a peak in heart attacks on Christmas Day and New Year's Day due perhaps to rich meals, alcohol and stress.
Novel nanotechnology heals abscesses caused by resistant staph bacteria
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Dec 22, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have developed a new approach for treating and healing skin abscesses caused by bacteria resistant to most antibiotics. The study ...
Enzyme necessary for development of healthy immune system
Dec 22, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Mice without the deoxycytidine kinase (dCK) enzyme have defects in their adaptive immune system, producing very low levels of both T and B lymphocytes, the major players involved in immune response, according to a study by ...
Study redefines placebo effect as part of effective treatment
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Dec 22, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Researchers used the placebo effect to successfully treat psoriasis patients with one quarter to one half of their usual dose of a widely used steroid medication, according to an early study published online today in the ...
Researcher finds success with new anti-cancer drug
Dec 22, 2009 |
5 / 5 (4) |
0
A study conducted at Scott & White Healthcare in Temple, Texas, found that a new drug stopped the growth of breast tumors in mice. This drug is unique in that it works both by stopping the cancer cells from growing and metastasizing ...
IBM Reveals Five Innovations that Will Change Cities in the Next Five Years (w/ Video)
Dec 17, 2009 |
3.4 / 5 (9) |
1
Today, IBM unveiled a list of innovations that have the potential to change how people live, work and play in cities around the globe over the next five to ten years.
What is the function of the protein CD20?
Dec 22, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Antibodies directed against the protein CD20, which is expressed by immune cells known as B cells, are used to treat B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma and rheumatoid arthritis. Despite this, the function of CD20 has not been determined. ...
Researchers Build Artificial Immune System to Solve Computational Problems
Technology / Computer Sciences
Dec 03, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (14) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- By mimicking the way that a living body acquires immunity to disease through vaccination, researchers have designed an artificial immune system to solve optimization problems more effectively ...
Researchers demonstrate that stem cells can be engineered to kill HIV
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Dec 08, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (18) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- UCLA AIDS Institute researchers have for the first time demonstrated that human blood stem cells can be engineered to target and kill HIV-infected cells.
Study reveals H1N1 unexpected weakness
Dec 10, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (19) |
7
The H1N1 influenza virus has been keeping a secret that may be the key to defeating it and other flu viruses as well.
Biological catch-22 prevents induction of antibodies that block HIV
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Dec 15, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (2) |
2
Scientists seeking to understand how to make an AIDS vaccine have found the cause of a major roadblock. It turns out that the immune system can indeed produce cells with the potential to manufacture powerful HIV-blocking ...
Mechanism discovered by which body's cells encourage tuberculosis infection
Dec 10, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
0
Scientists have discovered a signaling pathway that tuberculosis bacteria use to coerce disease-fighting cells to switch allegiance and work on their behalf. Epithelial cells line the airways and other surfaces ...
Mutation leads to new and severe form of bacterial disease
Dec 18, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Everybody gets sick, but how sick you get is in your genes. New research now reveals a mutation on a gene that makes children susceptible to a severe form of mycobacterial disease. The work not only supports ...
Breakthrough on causes of inflammatory bowel disease
Dec 17, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (4) |
0
New research by the University of Adelaide could help explain why some people are more prone to Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and other autoimmune diseases.
CDC: Rare infection passed on by Miss. organ donor
Dec 19, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (2) |
0
(AP) -- An extremely rare infection has been passed from an organ donor to at least one recipient in what is thought to be the first human-to-human transfer of the amoeba, medical officials said Friday.
