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Immunology

Education and promiscuity

Immune cells must be taught to distinguish between invading microbes and the body's own proteins. A new study re-emphasizes the importance of a thorough education in the thymus, and identifies an essential instructor.

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Figure 1: Aire and autoimmunity.

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Heath, W., Scott, H. Education and promiscuity. Nature 420, 468–469 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/420468a

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