![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Sep. 22nd, 2005 09:56 pmToday in my immunology class, I had a moment when I suddenly got the theory of intelligent design. I understood it on a deep, visceral level, because, wow, this stuff works so well, and boy was it awesome. Because, no, really, get this: You have, at all times, a bajillion and a half cells whose sole purpose is to kill one specific kind of germ. Each one of these can tell the difference between a cell with four carbons on it's surface, and three carbons on it's surface. None of that specificity is coded in your genome- it's done by random DNA recombination.
Ok? Because that's not even the amazing part yet. Here's more: when these cells come in contact with the germ they exist to kill, they multiply into two different kinds of cells: a memory cell that can live more than thirty years in your body, hanging out in case that specific germ ever comes back, and plasma cells, that live two days and pump out amazing amounts of antibody (the actual germ killing part of the cell).
Here is the totally brilliant part: when that first cell realizes it's found it's germy-purpose-in-life, it triggers self-DNA mutations. This means that not only do you suddenly have lots of the antibodies in your system, you have antibodies that are even better at killing off the germs. And your body remembers this! For ages and ages! Possibly, the rest of your life, but we haven't finished the human observations on this, so people with smallpox vaccines, get old faster!
Seriously. This is madness. How could this system work better? How could this have happened by accident? Also: what the heck is up with macrophages?
Dear Immunology class: you are saving this semester for me, one stupidly geeky IgG binding domain at a time. Thanks.
Also: I've actually been tagged for the Quirks meme twice but this involves actual thinking, so I will post that some other time. In the meantime, here, have some lj interests. ( Could this be any more self-referential? )
Ok? Because that's not even the amazing part yet. Here's more: when these cells come in contact with the germ they exist to kill, they multiply into two different kinds of cells: a memory cell that can live more than thirty years in your body, hanging out in case that specific germ ever comes back, and plasma cells, that live two days and pump out amazing amounts of antibody (the actual germ killing part of the cell).
Here is the totally brilliant part: when that first cell realizes it's found it's germy-purpose-in-life, it triggers self-DNA mutations. This means that not only do you suddenly have lots of the antibodies in your system, you have antibodies that are even better at killing off the germs. And your body remembers this! For ages and ages! Possibly, the rest of your life, but we haven't finished the human observations on this, so people with smallpox vaccines, get old faster!
Seriously. This is madness. How could this system work better? How could this have happened by accident? Also: what the heck is up with macrophages?
Dear Immunology class: you are saving this semester for me, one stupidly geeky IgG binding domain at a time. Thanks.
Also: I've actually been tagged for the Quirks meme twice but this involves actual thinking, so I will post that some other time. In the meantime, here, have some lj interests. ( Could this be any more self-referential? )
