Advances in Immunology, a long established and highly respected serial, presents current developments as well as comprehensive reviews in immunology. Articles address the wide range of topics that comprise immunology, including molecular and cellular activation mechanisms, phylogeny and molecular evolution, and clinical modalities. Edited and authored by the foremost scientists in the field, each volume provides up-to-date information and directions for future research.

Nearly thirty million species of organisms are believed to now live on Earth. In addition to accumulating evidence from classical biology, paleontology and earth science, the recent progress of molecular biology has provided new insights into understanding how present-day organisms have evolved with such tremendous diversity. Molecular biological studies show us that all living forms, including E. coli and human beings, derive from a single ancestor that emerged some 4 billion years ago on Earth. This volume aims to discuss the motifs of organismic evolution from the viewpoints of...

The intestine is the front line of the confrontation between pathogens and the immune system. However, it is also important to emphasize that we have a symbiotic relationship with innumerable bacteria in the intestine. In the gastrointestinal tract of mammals the lower intestine harbors around 1,000 12 species of anaerobic and aerobic bacteria, in densities up to 10 /mlinthe distal small intestine, the cecum, and the colon. A single layer of epithelial cells of the intestine protects the internal organs of the mammalian host from these bacteria. Below these epithelial cells the gut-associated...

Nearly thirty million species of organisms are believed to now live on Earth. In addition to accumulating evidence from classical biology, paleontology and earth science, the recent progress of molecular biology has provided new insights into understanding how present-day organisms have evolved with such tremendous diversity. Molecular biological studies show us that all living forms, including E. coli and human beings, derive from a single ancestor that emerged some 4 billion years ago on Earth. This volume aims to discuss the motifs of organismic evolution from the viewpoints of...