In a previous EMR post from December 30 of 2014 (see link below), I discussed a study (Science, 2014) that offered evidence for reciprocal selection of host and pathogen iron-binding proteins arising out the competition for their shared ligand, which is critical to...
In previous commentaries (http://dev-evmedreview.pantheonsite.io/?p=1863; http://dev-evmedreview.pantheonsite.io/?p=837; http://dev-evmedreview.pantheonsite.io/?p=385), I have discussed the critical role of extensive B-cell and immunoglobulin gene evolution in...
It would be hard to identify an approach to cancer treatment that has received more attention recently than anti-checkpoint therapy (Pollack, 2015). This strategy for eliminating tumor cells is based on interfering with one or another pathway that inhibits the...
In an EMR commentary (http://evomed.org/?p=1644) from March two years ago, I discussed issues related to the functional classification of genomic DNA sequences that arose in the context of claims from the ENCODE (ENCyclopedia Of DNA Elements) consortium. A particular...
Last month, Murphy and colleagues (Cell, 2015) published a fascinating report about a patient with an immunodeficiency syndrome that underwent spontaneous resolution. The mechanism for this remarkable outcome points to the importance of somatic cell selection and...
