benvonpluton
benvonpluton t1_j0s92e2 wrote
Interferons and interleukins are two good examples of it.
Interferons can be produced by infected cells or immune cells in response to infections or tumors. One of their functions is to slow down replication of RNA to slow down the replication of the pathogen or the cancer cells. And interferons also targets other cells to lower their vulnerability against the infection.
Interleukins (or cytokines) are mostly regulators of the immune response. They activate and target immune cells against pathogens or antigens, they control their replication, the production of antibodies and the differentiation of the many immune cells (like memory lymphocytes, useful against a second infection). Cytokines are produced by immune cells but also many other cells in your body and another of their functions is to regulate the immune response to avoid self-immune reactions. A cytokine storm is an acute disproportionate cytokinic response to an infection. That's what caused so many deaths at the begining of the COVID pandemy.
benvonpluton t1_ityl5rl wrote
Reply to How can the chicks breathe in their shell? by You_Smiled
Air can pass through the shell. As a matter of fact, that's why dinosaur eggs weren't much bigger than an ostrich egg even when the adults could be 30 or 40 meters long : a bigger egg would have needed a thicker shell, which would have made it impossible for the air to pass through.
benvonpluton t1_irzxt3s wrote
Reply to How does bad stuff in the things we ingest (like mold) harm us if our stomach is literally just full of acid? by [deleted]
Acid isn't able to digest your food entirely. Some digestion happens After the stomach. Plus, thé more you eat, the less acidic your stomach will be.
And i'd finish with the fact that pathogens can be so resistant to acid that there are examples of pathogens living in your stomach. Like Helicobacter pylori.
benvonpluton t1_jebn3ih wrote
Reply to How did this happen?! by Flubbuns
Baby carrots aren't really little carrots. They are just cut and shaped to look like baby carrots. This one dodged the blade.