Questions and Answers
What is the main function of B cells in the immune system?
What type of protein is produced by B cells to neutralize invaders?
Why do B cells remember the appearance of invaders?
What is the purpose of a vaccination?
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What type of cells do B cells recognize as friendly?
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What is the shape of an antibody?
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What happens to the B cells after they have defeated an invader?
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What is the term for the protein produced by B cells?
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What type of cells are B cells?
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What is the result of a B cell recognizing a foreign invader?
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Study Notes
The Immune System and B Cells
- The immune system is the body's built-in defense against germs like bacteria, viruses, and fungi that can make us sick.
- B cells are a specific type of white blood cell that act as soldiers in the immune system, responsible for recognizing and defeating invaders.
How B Cells Work
- B cells circulate through the bloodstream, looking for anything that doesn't belong, and recognize the body's own cells as friendly.
- B cells memorize the appearance of foreign invaders and produce a protein called an antibody to defeat them.
- Antibodies are Y-shaped proteins that can bind to and neutralize invaders.
Antibodies and Memory
- Once a B cell has recognized an invader and produced antibodies, it remembers the invader's appearance forever.
- This means the body can fight off that specific invader for the rest of its life.
Vaccination
- A vaccination is an injection of fake invaders that have been made harmless on the inside but still look like the real invader on the outside.
- When a vaccination enters the bloodstream, B cells recognize the invaders and start making antibodies to neutralize them.
- As a result, the body builds up a defense against the real invader, and if it ever tries to enter the body, the B cells are prepared to defeat it.
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Description
Learn about the immune system's defense against germs like bacteria, viruses, and fungi, and how B cells play a crucial role in keeping you healthy.