What is the best way to keep the immune system well?

The best way to keep your immune system well is to get vaccinated. A healthy lifestyle is also important to keep every system of our body functioning properly.

What do you find most interesting about the immune system?

The most fascinating aspect about the immune system is its ability to remember prior pathogens. This phenomena, known as immunological memory, is the basis for vaccination and for why our bodies do better the second time they are exposed to a specific microorganism.

What are the best ways for dealing with autoimmune disorders(A disorder where the body thinks itself is the enemy)?

There are many types of autoimmune disorders. A physician may prescribe a different type of medication depending on what type of autoimmune disease a person has. Broadly speaking, there are steroids, which as wide immunosuppressants, as well as monoclonal antibodies that block specific inflammatory pathways.

What happens to the body if the immune system wears down?

The immune system declines with age, as well as with other conditions such as HIV/AIDS and treatment with immunosuppressive drugs. This renders the person more susceptible to opportunistic infections.

What can we do to take care of the immune system?

Getting vaccinated and having a healthy lifestyle are important for having a good immune system.

How did the Spanish flu trick the immune system into killing its own body?

Well, this is not 100% accurate… Every time we get infected with a virus, our own T cells need to kill virally infected cells in order to clear the infection. So with any virus, there is "collateral damage" caused by our own immune system, since our own cells must die in order to eliminate the infection.

If the immune system has a weapon against every sickness how do people still die from sickness?

The immune system is not perfect, and pathogens also evolve in response to the immune system. So our immune system can learn how to defeat a specific microbe, but in turn, some microbes can learn how to override the immune system

How did the immune system originate?

This is a very good question. Our immune system is divided into the innate immune system and adaptive immune system. The innate immune system is thought to have evolved before the adaptive immune system and is widely present in many organisms. Overall, the immune system is the product of millions of years of natural selection,

How did the immune system get so coordinated?

This is the result of natural selection. There are also cells of the immune system whose role if to coordinate other immune cells

Can the immune system still work without the Adaptive Immune System?

Some organisms do not possess an adaptive immune system, and they are ok, but in the case of mammalians (including humans), the adaptive immune system is critical for survival.

Will the Innate Immune System be forced to “adapt” if the body survives long enough?

No, the innate immune system is thought to not be “adaptable” as the adaptive immune system. The adaptive immune system is the one known to adapt to different bugs

How it helped me:
This interview gave me a more meaningful insight into the immune system. I found out some questions I still had after I read the book. I appreciate Dr. Penaloza-Macmaster for helping me find my answers to the immune system.