Tales of the Immune System - "To secure peace is to prepare for war"

What’s all the fuss about platelets? They’re not even real cells. They’re little bits of their parents - sort of like a breadcrumb is to your toast, right? Wrong! When we cut ourselves, these sticky bits come to rescue to stop us bleeding– a handy trick, so important that it’s conserved across species (hello, ants). Sadly, sometimes they get overly enthusiastic. That’s when 400,000+ people in UK alone end up with heart attacks and strokes in hospitals. How is this balancing act managed? What else do platelets get up to? And how does an aspirin a day really keep the doctor away?

Have you ever stubbed your toe on a piece of furniture? Hurts like hell doesn’t it? Then in a minute or two (after you’ve finished swearing) your toe turns red, swells up, becomes hot, and you can’t walk on it for a while. These are the hallmark signs of a response our bodies mount to injury called inflammation, something we associate with being a bad thing. But what is inflammation? And if it’s a bad thing, why do our bodies switch it on? Inflammation drives the majority of diseases, but if we didn’t have it, the first infection we’d experience might kill us. So is inflammation good, or bad?

Are you on steroids? Someone might ask you that tongue-in-cheek question if you just lifted a heavy object with ease. Steroids are often associated with body builders and drug-cheating athletes. Did you know that there are two different types of steroid drugs? Dodgy athletes use building-up steroids whereas approximately 1 million of us in the UK are currently using breaking-down steroids in one form or another. These drugs are used to treat many common conditions that involve inflammation. So what is the difference? Steroids are drugs with a fascinating history and a controversial future.