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The fields of immunology, microbiology, nutrition and metabolism are rapidly converging. Here we expand on a diet-microbiota model as the basis for the greater incidence of asthma and autoimmunity in developed countries.
Diseases preventable by underused vaccines cause the death of approximately 3 million children per year. The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) was launched 10 years ago to tackle this appalling situation.
Complexities in sample handling, instrument setup and data analysis are barriers to the effective use of flow cytometry to monitor immunological parameters in clinical trials. The novel use of a central laboratory may help mitigate these issues.
Over the next 10 years, it will be important to shift the focus of mucosal immunology research to make further advances. Examination of the mucosal immune system as a global organ, rather than as a group of individual components, will identify and characterize relationships between mucosal sites.
Acetylcholine and related neurotransmitters appeared with unicellular life forms, millions of years before innate immunity. Tools and insights are now available for understanding how the evolving nervous system influenced the development of immunity.
The imaging of tissues and organs as it is now practiced will seem primitive in the coming decade, yet use of this technology will define the origin of emergent activities and drive an era of system integration.
Severe combined immunodeficiency conditions are devastating disorders of adaptive immunity. Although these diseases were initially treated by transplantation of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cells, the past 20 years has shown that these conditions are correctable by gene therapy.
Although the life sciences promise huge benefits, the possibility of doing harm from deliberate misuse of knowledge is an increasingly worrisome issue. Discussion and mitigation of these risks by life scientists must be encouraged.
