Physics Research Conference

Our adaptive immune system protects us against a wide variety of different pathogens — many of which were not around when we were born. How can our immune system be prepared for the many unknown pathogens that we will encounter throughout our lives? To make the job harder, the pathogens keep changing and evolving, forcing the immune system to change. In this talk, I will use statistical inference to quantify how nature uses statistics to generate diversity and be prepared to respond to many challenges. I will also describe stochastic prediction strategies that are consistent with our vision of this self-organised protection system.