this post was submitted on 20 Feb 2026
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[–] DaddleDew@lemmy.world 44 points 9 hours ago (4 children)

I'm no immunologist, but there has to be a reason why we evolved so our immune system doesn't constantly stay on "amber alert". There has got to be drawbacks.

[–] Kirp123@lemmy.world 26 points 8 hours ago

So one of the reasons asbestos is so dangerous is that it gets in your lungs where macrophages detect it as being foreign and try to destroy it. The issue is that asbestos is way larger than these cells and it's pretty resilient so they can't break it apart and eat it. The cells "get frustrated " so they start releasing inflammatory substances trying to find a way to neutralize this foreign body. That prolonged inflammation is what eventually leads to mesothelioma and other cancers.

I'm not sure how they plan to avoid the inflammation caused by these cells being in constant fighting infection mode.

[–] daychilde@lemmy.world 18 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

But the way evolution works is "whatever works that keeps the species alive".

We haven't evolved reading glasses, but they are helpful devices with very few downsides.

That said, there may well be unintended consequences and effects, sure.

[–] Kage520@lemmy.world 4 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

I think of it this way. The immune system is like an army, ready to fight off foreign invaders. If you were a king, would you want a huge standing army at all times, or the ability to draft soldiers as needed? Having a huge standing army is not only a waste of resources if there isn't anything to fight, but your soldiers might get bored and invent things to fight or just stir up trouble.

So my guess is you'd be prone to inflammation and develop food sensitivities, but it's a total guess. If they were the case though, chronic inflammation is really bad long term.

[–] daychilde@lemmy.world 1 points 4 hours ago

Yes, I understand the theory. And it's fine to discuss speculation, because that could turn out to be the case.

But I also brought up glasses because not everything the body has done to survive is something that can't be changed.

We'll have to see what happens when we turn up the immune system.

As a hopefuly kidney transplant candidate at some point… I'm very interested as I know after a transplant, I have to take things to suppress my immune system, so I particularly suspect for that reason I might not be able to benefit from this new thing..... but I hope I'm wrong :)

[–] scytale@piefed.zip 5 points 8 hours ago

Probably why there are auto-immune disorders, no? When the body randomly chooses to attack itself. Not a scientist so just speculating.

[–] hayvan@piefed.world 5 points 9 hours ago

On one hand I can see the benefit of using such a booster right before flu season. On the other hand, yeah does it have a crash at the end? Does an overactive immune system damage healthy tissues? Does it create inflammation response that leads to depression, fatigue, other chronic issues? There is A LOT that can go wrong there.