2002/04/12 by Polly Matzinger · 6 citations
Engineering · Immunology and Microbiology · Medicine · #Artificial Immune Systems Applications #Immune responses and vaccinations #Viral Infections and Outbreaks Research
paper · doi:10.1126/science.1071059
openalex publication_date 2002/04/12 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
For over 50 years immunologists have based their thoughts, experiments, and clinical treatments on the idea that the immune system functions by making a distinction between self and nonself. Although this paradigm has often served us well, years of detailed examination have revealed a number of inherent problems. This Viewpoint outlines a model of immunity based on the idea that the immune system is more concerned with entities that do damage than with those that are foreign.