Gene hunters have long focused on a mere 1.5% of the human genome, an estimated 25, 000 genes that code for proteins and thereby control the immune response, organ growth and brain activity, among other things.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Eventually some tumors escape the control of the immune system entirely.

FORBES: Magazine Article

One is whether it really does preserve the infection-control side of the immune system (which should be easy to test).

ECONOMIST: Transplant surgery

Existing drugs like steroids keep the disease under control by broadly suppressing the immune system but cause nasty side effects.

FORBES: Companies & Strategies

Researchers believe these new antibodies promote the production of a mysterious class of immune system cells called regulatory T cells that act as peacekeepers to ensure the rest of the immune system's soldiers remain under control.

FORBES: Delaying Diabetes

Almost three-quarters of the group given the therapy have not relapsed, compared to 44% in a control group given surgery then another drug which stimulates the immune system.

BBC: Supercharged cells fired at skin cancer

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently recommended Prevenar 13 for adults aged 19 years or older with impaired immune system.

FORBES: Move up http://i.forbesimg.com t Move down

Acting as a messenger between the central nervous system and the major organs, the vagus nerve slows the heart rate (through the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine), calms the immune response (by controlling the release of proteins called cytokines), and communicates with the muscles that control respiration and digestion.

CNN: What really makes people happy

When it arrived in America it was detected within months thanks to the vigilance of the country's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in noticing clusters of a previously rare skin cancer that is often a symptom of immune-system collapse.

ECONOMIST: Bird flu and public health