By discovering how vital immune cells known as dendritic cells recognize dead and damaged cells, researchers think they may have found a new approach for next generation vaccines that "trick" cells into launching an immune response. Such vaccines would be more effective and result in fewer side-effects, they suggest. Dendritic cells are unique immune cells that detect dead and damaged cells, digest them, and present them to other immune cells capable of recognizing foreign agents such as bacteria, viruses and parasites...

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