Danny Altmann on how T cells fight disease

The Life Scientific

BBC

Technology, Personal Journals, Society & Culture, Science

4.6 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 28 February 2023

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Jim Al-Khalili talks T cells, our immune response and Long Covid with Prof Danny Altmann. Danny Altmann joined ‘team T cells’ in his twenties and has been studying how these killer operate ever since. How do they know which cells to search and destroy? The T cell wing of our immune response is highly targeted and incredibly clever, on a par with the most sophisticated military intelligence operation and in recent decades there have been dramatic advances in our understanding of how it all works . Danny tells Jim how he came to study our immune response to all sorts of pathogens, from anthrax to zika, why he spends every morning from 5 to 6am in the bath reading 19th century classics and why he’s determined to try and understand Long Covid. Producer: Anna Buckley

Transcript

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0:00.0	Before you listen to this BBC podcast, I'd like to introduce myself.
0:03.7	My name's Stevie Middleton and I'm a BBC Commissioner for a Load of Sport Podcasts.
0:08.4	I'm lucky to do that at the BBC because I get to work with a leading journalist, experienced
0:12.2	pundits and the biggest sport stars.
0:14.3	Together we bring you untold stories and fascinating insights straight from the players'
0:18.5	mouths.
0:19.5	But the best thing about doing this at the BBC is our unique access to the sport in world.
0:25.0	What that means is that we can bring you podcasts that create a real connection to
0:28.8	dedicated sports fans across the UK.
0:31.2	So if you like this podcast, head over to BBC Sounds where you'll find plenty more.
0:40.7	Hello, today I'm talking to a professor of immunology who spends every morning from five
0:46.0	to six a.m. in the bath reading 19th century classics.
0:49.8	Danny Oldman joined Team T-cell as he calls it in his 20s and has been studying how these
0:56.6	killer cells operate ever since.
0:59.6	Our immune response to all sorts of different pathogens is highly targeted and incredibly
1:04.8	clever.
1:05.8	On par, it seems to me, with the best military intelligence operation.
1:10.7	And thanks to Danny, I'm finally starting to get my head around how it all works.
1:15.4	We talk T-cells, why words matter in science and why he's determined to try and understand
1:20.8	long Covid.
1:21.8	I hope you enjoy listening in.
1:24.6	My guest today is a man whose area of expertise has been in exceptionally high demand in recent
	...

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