New book explores advances in immune system science

There have been many scientific developments in recent years. One astounding breakthrough, the creation and rollout of mRNA vaccines, was deployed as a protection against Covid-19. That technology, designed to trigger a desired immune system response to a threat, had been in development for decades.

In his new book, An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System: A Tale in Four Lives, author Matt Richtel explores how our immune systems work, ideally, and advances in treatments for immune-related diseases.

In this conversation, he sheds light on various immunological developments. As he makes clear, our immune system is an intricate wonder, on par with the human brain. It helps us ward off bacteria, tumors, and disease, but can also turn on us, for reasons scientists are trying to understand, attacking its host.

Richtel is a bit of an odd duck for a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. That award came for a New York Times series he wrote about distracted driving. He went on to write similarly complex narrative series on the science of heavy computer use, the rise of obesity around the world, and the rise of drug-resistant infections. But Richtel has also written mysteries, songs, and children’s stories. He had a daily comic strip, Rudy Park, for a decade. If that sounds like someone who is wildly creative and curious, the shoe seems to fit. You’ll hear his excited curiosity here.

Matt Richtel is clearly pleased to be interviewed here by Dr. James Heath, the president of Seattle’s Institute for Systems Biology. The two dive easily into tracking some of the major developments of our times.

Town Hall Seattle and the Institute for Systems Biology presented this event on February 10, 2022, as part of Town Hall’s Arno G. Motulsky Science series, dedicated to understanding the world around us.