Legacy of the influenza pandemic 1918: Introduction

Evergreen influenza - Tackling an old enemy with fresh munitions

This special edition of the Biomedical Journal puts the innate immune system into the limelight. We learn about the universal mechanisms underlying the immediate defense against influenza viruses mounted by innate immunity but also its detrimental secondary effects and how differential host genetics influence the network. Moreover, this issue addresses how oral hygiene is a concern for the entire organism, that younger age goes well with neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer and zinc with feeling less distressed by tinnitus caused by noise-induced hearing loss, and that IL-1Ra holds very promising potential to prevent intestinal ischemia reperfusion injury. Finally, we discover which type of post optimally protects devitalized teeth from breaking and how difficult it is to accurately diagnose the macrofollicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma.