Is there a set quota of white blood cells that the human body produces over its lifetime, and if so do routine vaccines (e.g. the flu) tax the immune system enough to significantly shorten the person's lifespan? [more inside]
posted by foulowl on Nov 19, 2009 - 33 answers

Flu vaccine and immunology questions, I have a few. [more inside]
posted by Mountain Goatse on Nov 6, 2009 - 10 answers

MolecularBiologyFilter: Embarrassingly easy question for any immunologists out there: are Toll-like receptors (or other pathogen recognition receptors) only expressed in professional antigen presenting cells (DCs, macrophages etc), or are they in e.g. epithelial cells too? [more inside]
posted by metaBugs on Jun 24, 2009 - 7 answers

Yo, immunologists/virologists! Do viral envelopes ever contain actual allogeneic MHC molecules? That is, if person X gets infected by an enveloped virus and passes it on to person Y, will person Y get some of X's MHCs? [more inside]
posted by greatgefilte on Dec 10, 2008 - 5 answers

Can I dilute my samples and keep them in the fridge for a couple of days without affecting my results? [more inside]
posted by bolognius maximus on Oct 24, 2008 - 3 answers

I have been hired to write a slide kit focusing primarily on developments in the field of HIV vaccines. Problem is, I have no medical training at all -- not even a biology course. I need to find resources that will give me a basic background in immunology without assuming prior medical knowledge. [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Mar 14, 2008 - 8 answers

ImmunoFilter: How do B cells, which secrete antibodies, get selected for self vs. nonself recognition? Or don't they? [more inside]
posted by ObeyScient on Mar 13, 2007 - 6 answers

Any research immunologists out there? I need information on footpad swelling experiments in mice. [more inside]
posted by divka on Feb 28, 2007 - 14 answers