Nobel Winners: Why The Immune System Doesn’t Destroy You

Nobel Winners: Why The Immune System Doesn’t Destroy You

Every second, your immune system scans for threats: viruses, bacteria, or anything that doesn’t belong. But here’s the mystery that’s puzzled scientists for decades: If it’s so good at attacking, why doesn’t it attack you?

That question led to one of the biggest breakthroughs in modern biology… and now, a Nobel Prize.

This year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Shimon Sakaguchi of Japan, and Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell from the US. Their work uncovered why the immune system knows when to fight, and when to stand down.

Here’s how it happened:

• Before their discovery, scientists already knew that the immune system has an early “training phase.” Inside an organ called the thymus, immature immune cells are tested. The ones that react too strongly to the body’s own tissues are destroyed.

• But that process isn’t perfect. Some risky cells still escape into the bloodstream. Sakaguchi and his colleagues found that the immune system needs a second line of defense: cells that could calm or deactivate any rogue immune cells that slipped through.

• They discovered special white blood cells called regulatory T-cells, which act as the body’s “immune system security guards.” These cells patrol the body, ensuring that other immune cells don’t mistakenly target healthy tissue. When this system fails, the body turns against itself; causing autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

The three laureates share the 11 million Swedish kronor prize.

It’s amazing how detailed and precise the human body is! Layers of defense, systems checking and balancing each other, all running quietly to keep us alive. The deeper scientists look, the more it feels like everything fits together too perfectly to be random. I’m reminded of this verse:

“You do not see in the creation of the Most Merciful any inconsistency. So return your vision to the sky - do you see any breaks?” (Surah Al-Mulk, 67:3)