Historically, the digestive and immune systems were viewed and studied as separate entities. However, there are remarkable similarities and shared functions in both nutrient acquisition and host defense. Here, I propose a common origin for both systems. This association provides a new prism for viewing the emergence and evolution of host defense mechanisms.

In several recent studies we have observed that stepwise encapsulation of simple redox partners by weakly interacting molecular hosts can exert substantial kinetic and/or energetic effects upon thermal (self exchange) and/or optical (intervalence) electron transfer (ET) reactions.1-3 The previous studies featured encapsulation via either hydrogen bonding (ammine ruthenium guests with crown ethe...

Lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) are commonly used in molecular genetics, supplying DNA for the HapMap and 1000 Genomes Projects, used to test chemotherapeutic agents, and informing the basis of a number of population genetics studies of gene expression. The process of transforming human B cells into LCLs requires the presence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a double-stranded DNA virus which throu...

HIV-1 replication and viral pathogenesis are dependent on numerous host factors. A series of recent papers apply genome-wide and large-scale approaches to map host-virus interactions and to identify host proteins capable of restricting (that is, controlling) the virus. Strategies include genome-wide association studies, small interfering RNA screens, genome-wide transcriptome profiling, proteom...