Jay Mone wrote:
> Antibodies are an example of how the idea of self and non-self can blur.
Dear Jay,
Yes, the immune system does not so much need
to discriminate between black and white, as between
shades of grey ... a little bit like self/a little bit
less like self. Thus, in the 70s the the terms "altered
self" (see Zinkernagel-Doherty review in Imm. Today
(1997)18, 14-17), or "near self" (see URL below) were
introduced, together with the idea of the positive
selection of expanded clones of anti-"near-self" cells.
Donald Forsdyke. Discussion Leader. Bionet.immunology
http://post.queensu.ca/~forsdyke/lederber.htm#POSITIVE SELECTION