Researchers discover how human immune receptors become activated in the presence of harmful substances

In George Orwell's classic dystopian novel Animal Farm, as the barnyard devolves into chaos the slogan "all animals are equal" quickly becomes "all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others". The same might be true for the tiny immune receptors scattered across the surface of our T-cells. Before now, it was unclear how these complex molecular receptors recognised harmful invaders (or antigens) and sent warning signals into the cell. It was largely assumed that "all receptors were equal".

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