Author Archives: kill3rtcell

Hepatitis B vaccine: Preventing cancer, except for when it’s not actually given…

One of the commentors over on the Australian Anti-Vaccination Network’s facebook page challenged the group’s president – Meryl Dorey – to comment on a hypothetical scenario as a way of discussing the utility of vaccination against Hepatitis B (Hep B). … Continue reading

Posted in Australian Vaccination Network, Hepatitis B, Vaccination | 3 Comments

Here’s that booster shot I promised…

Just a quick follow up from the last post. Here’s that booster shot I said I’d get. While waiting the required 15 minutes before leaving my local community health centre I read the package insert, and I can tell you … Continue reading

Posted in Pertussis, Vaccination | 1 Comment

Has Whooping Cough Evolved Around The Current Vaccine? Reflections On The (Then) Current Scientific Evidence

Before reading this post be aware that as of April 2014 we now know that Australian strains of B. pertussis have largely lost expression of the protein whose variation is a key feature of this piece. An explanation of that study … Continue reading

Posted in Australian Vaccination Network, Pertussis, Vaccination | 18 Comments

Meryl Dorey’s Talk at the Woodford Folk Festival – What’s in a Title?

As is quickly shaping up as somewhat of a popular issue within the Skeptiverse, Meryl Dorey (president of the anti-vaccine lobby group the Australian Vaccination Network) will be giving a talk at this year’s Woodford Folk Festival. This fact has … Continue reading

Posted in Australian Vaccination Network, Vaccination | 5 Comments

02 – Innate immunity

In order for the immune system to respond to microbes like viruses or bacteria, and not to our own tissues, it needs to recognise them as foreign. How does our immune system do this, and what are the consequences? Throughout … Continue reading

Posted in Introduction to the immune system | 7 Comments

01 – What is the immune system?

The immune system is the collective term for the many mechanisms the body uses to protect us from infection. It isn’t one thing, but rather a complex system of many molecules, cells and organs which interact in very specific ways … Continue reading

Posted in Introduction to the immune system | 1 Comment

Welcome to the LymphoSite

Hi there. I’m an immunology student who is repeatedly disappointed by the amount of mis-information about the immune system on the web. I’m starting this blog not to talk about myself or any ‘deep musings’ but instead to try and … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments