Permafrost Immunity

As global warming and climate change prevail, glaciers on our planet's highest peaks and polar, peri-polar, and sub-polar permafrost are melting. As this process unfolds, noxious greenhouse gases - such as methane and carbon dioxide - are released, as well as novel and ancient pathogens, from viruses to bacteria and other parasites. Our immune system is increasingly called to mount efficient defenses against these biological threats, and to attain new states of homeostatic balance by stressing certain immune cell populations, function, and cytokine profiles while depressing others. The physiological adaptation of the immune system to the demands of permafrost pathogens is discussed in this book as 'permafrost immunity.' The point is made that permafrost immunity will concern every aspect of the immune system, from innate to adaptive immunity, from cellular to humoral immunity, and at the cellular level from T cell to B cell immunity. It is also argued in this book that because many of the most gravely threatening pathogens (e.g., influenza virus, corona virus, E. coli bacteria) penetrate the organism through the oral cavity, it is in the mouth that permafrost immunity may first become evident. In brief, this book on the topic of permafrost immunity, is written for professionals, clinicians and academicians, graduate students, and trainees in the health sciences, as well as the interested public. Its principal goal is to define and characterize the general scientific question of how prepared/unprepared our immune system is to counter the plethora of ancient and novel pathogens released by the melting permafrost.