eis 31: the immune system
immune quest
“Every day, every hour, this very minute, perhaps, dark forces attempt to penetrate this castle's walls. But in the end, their greatest weapon... is you.” - Albus Dumbledore
Billions upon trillions of microbes cover the surface of this planet. Many of them are harmless. Many others are not. Due to this, your body is, in essence, at constant war against invisible pathogenic invaders. Fortunately, it’s usually winning. Unfortunately, pathogens are devious little buggers that adapt quickly under selective pressure and can, sometimes, become good enough to fight back against your immune system. That’s when your immune system kicks into overdrive and when we scientists get to work finding additional treatments.
This game was designed to give you a sense of just how amazing your immune system is, despite the immense level of challenge that certain pathogens can pose. It was developed in conjunction with the National Science Foundation and the first 3 levels are free, but you’ll need to download to install it. If you’d prefer not to download anything, here is a somewhat similar online game, but the graphics and features aren’t nearly as complex.
Go through the game of your choice to learn how your immune system works, and attack those pathogens!
Billions upon trillions of microbes cover the surface of this planet. Many of them are harmless. Many others are not. Due to this, your body is, in essence, at constant war against invisible pathogenic invaders. Fortunately, it’s usually winning. Unfortunately, pathogens are devious little buggers that adapt quickly under selective pressure and can, sometimes, become good enough to fight back against your immune system. That’s when your immune system kicks into overdrive and when we scientists get to work finding additional treatments.
This game was designed to give you a sense of just how amazing your immune system is, despite the immense level of challenge that certain pathogens can pose. It was developed in conjunction with the National Science Foundation and the first 3 levels are free, but you’ll need to download to install it. If you’d prefer not to download anything, here is a somewhat similar online game, but the graphics and features aren’t nearly as complex.
Go through the game of your choice to learn how your immune system works, and attack those pathogens!
bonus activity: phagocytosis!
For a fun, real life activity to show you the awesomeness of your immune system, if you’re able to get a few people together, try a fun game of phagocytosis tag! It has essentially the same rules as freeze tag. The person who is “it” is the macrophage and must yell, “Phagocytosis!” whenever they tag another player, a pathogen. The pathogen must then freeze in place until another pathogen (another player) tags them to give them “immune resistance”. The round then continues until all the pathogens are frozen. Have fun! You can also play around with adding your own rules or twists on the game. For example, you could try developing a virtual version using social media or video conferencing.
If you’re having fun and learning something cool, we want to see it! If you have an Instagram and the permission of your relevant responsible adult, share with us @eons_learning, #PhagocytosisEons.
If you’re having fun and learning something cool, we want to see it! If you have an Instagram and the permission of your relevant responsible adult, share with us @eons_learning, #PhagocytosisEons.