Summary & Study Guide - An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System

By Lee Tang

A comprehensive primer on the human immune system.

This book is a summary of “An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System,” by Matt Richtel.

The immune system defends people against germs and microorganisms every day. In most cases, it does a great job of keeping people healthy and preventing infections. But it can easily be compromised by fatigue, stress, toxins, advanced age, and poor nutrition. Problems with the immune system can lead to illness and infection. An unchecked immune system can attack the body's own cells and damage its own organs. Scientists call it autoimmunity, which affects 20 percent of Americans.

This book tells you the story of how scientists:

• Discover things like T cells and B cells.
• Apply their knowledge through life-saving vaccines and transplants.
• Delve into the tiny fragments of the immune system and build a blueprint of the machine.
• Build medicines by replicating the defense cells.

Read this book to better understand one of the enduring mysteries of human biology.

This guide includes:
* Book Summary—helps you understand the key concepts.
* Online Videos—cover the concepts in more depth.
Value-added from this guide:
* Save time
* Understand key concepts
* Expand your knowledge

• Language: English
• Publisher: LMT Press
• Release date: May 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9781988970233

Lee Tang

Lee Tang is a retired executive of a major global insurance company. Prior to his retirement, he has worked as an actuary, a risk officer and a chief financial officer for several major insurance organizations in the United States, Canada, and Taiwan. To learn more about Lee and his work, visit his website and blog at https://lmtpress.wordpress.com. You can reach him by email at [e-mail].

Book preview

A Comprehensive Primer on the Human Immune System

This book is a summary of An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System, by Matt Richtel.

The immune system defends people against germs and microorganisms every day. In most cases, it does a great job of keeping people healthy and preventing infections. But it can easily be compromised by fatigue, stress, toxins, advanced age, and poor nutrition. Problems with the immune system can lead to illness and infection. An unchecked immune system can attack the body's own cells and damage its own organs. Scientists call it autoimmunity, which affects 20 percent of Americans.

This book tells you the story of how scientists:

Discover things like T cells and B cells.

Apply their knowledge through life-saving vaccines and transplants.

Delve into the tiny fragments of the immune system and build a blueprint of the machine.

Build medicines by replicating the defense cells.

Read this book to better understand one of the enduring mysteries of human biology.

This guide includes:

Book Summary—helps you understand the key concepts.

Online Videos—cover the concepts in more depth.

Value-added from this guide:

Save time

Understand key concepts

Expand your knowledge

Important Note About This Guide

This guide is a summary and not a critique/review of the book. The summary may not be organized chapter-wise but summarizes the book’s main ideas, viewpoints, and arguments. It is NOT meant to be a replacement, but a supplement to help you understand the book’s key ideas and recommendations.

Title: Summary & Study Guide - An Elegant Defense

Subtitle: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System

Author: Lee Tang

Publisher: LMT Press (lmtpress.wordpress.com)

Copyright © 2019 by Lee Tang

All rights reserved. Aside from brief quotations for media coverage and reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any form without the author’s permission. Thank you for supporting authors and a diverse, creative culture by purchasing this book and complying with copyright laws.

First Edition: July 2019

Issued in print and electronic formats.

ISBN 9781988970233 (ebook)

ISBN 9781091397279 (paperback)

ISBN 9781987065046 (paperback)

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and author make no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy or completeness of these contents and disclaim all warranties such as warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. The website addresses in the book were correct at the time going to print. However, the publisher and author are not responsible for the content of third-party websites, which are subject to change.

To my wife, Lillian, who is the source of energy and love for everything I do, and to Andrew and Amanda: watching you grow up has been a privilege.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Introduction

Part 1: The Immune System and the Festival of Life

1. The Bird, Dog, Starfish, and Magic Bullet

2. The Festival of Life

3. Thymus: The Mystery Organ

4. Soldiers of Immunity

5. Immune Responses

6. Two-Part Immune System: Fast and Slow

7. Boosting the Immune System

8. Hygiene Hypothesis and the Microbiome

9. Failed Immunity and Disease

Part 2: Virus Infections

10. Bob

11. AIDS/HIV

Part 3: Autoimmunity

12. Linda and Merredith

13. Lupus and Arthritis

Part 4: Cancer

14. Jason

15. Defense Against Cancer Cells

Index

About the Author

Introduction

Our immune system is made up of special cells, proteins, tissues, and organs. It can distinguish our own tissues from foreign tissues and help us defend against invasions from harmful bacteria, viruses, and parasites. In most cases, it does a great job of keeping us healthy and preventing infections. But sometimes problems with the immune system can lead to illness and infection:

The immune system can easily be compromised by fatigue, stress, toxins, advanced age, and poor nutrition, making us vulnerable to illness and infections.

An overheated immune system can attack our own tissues and organs, leading to autoimmune disorders like type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus,