Follow
The sensitivity of our body to germs might be related to the environment we live in. Our immunes system is changing with the passing of time, by moulding on the way and place we live our lives. The environment is the designer of our immune system, study shows.
Ever wondered why some people always get the flu and others hardly or never do? What is it that make sour bodies react so different to viruses, diseases, microbes, or even slight changes of temperatures?
Nothing is more complex than our immune system, a born “killer” who is trained to protect us at any cost against any kind of invader. We are all created the same, but the differences are in the details and cells of our immune system. What causes this diversity in every single human it is still unknown. Our immune system is very flexible and ca adapt and adjust its settings according to the environment. For example, microbes seam to play a main role in diversifying the immune system of each person.
In order to find more about what makes our immune system so unique, immunologist, of the University of Stanford University from Palo Alto, California, Mark Davis, and his research team, conducted an experiment on twins.
There are more types of twins, identical twins have very similar genetics, while fraternal twins have around half of their genes the same. Fraternal twins are less likely to share hereditary traits than identical twins are.
Researchers studied 210 twins, both identical and fraternal, with the ages varying from 8 to 82 years old. They got blood samples from each person and did some specific calculations on their immune system. Scientists calculated the amount of the 95 types of immune cells and 51 types of proteins. Results showed that the immune system of identical twins was totally different. Which means that environmental conditions can transform genetic similarities. Younger twins had more similarities than older twins had, clear evidence that with the passing of time and exposure to different environmental conditions, could be changing the immune system.
Genetic impact can be seen also in the way the body responds to vaccines. Some bodies has stronger reactions to vaccines, and release more antibodies.Again, another environmental related difference appeared, possibly because of the different viruses the twins had been exposed over time.
This is not a revolutionary discovery but just proves, again, that our body is a real masterpiece which never ceases to amaze us.
Image Source: Cleaner Confessions
