The unexpected gift of a strong immune system: we’re more attractive
By Roberta Attanasio
Why are we attracted to one face over another? What makes a face attractive and another one less attractive? “Research finds that features such as clear skin, prominent cheekbones, bright eyes, and full, red lips have been deemed attractive throughout recorded human history Research also finds a consistent preference for symmetrical and average faces. Although some argue that standards of beauty are primarily the product of Western media exposure, research suggests these standards transcend age and cultural boundaries, being demonstrated in infants, as well as in those living in societies with little exposure to Western media.”
Evolutionary theories propose that our preferences for certain facial features evolved because these features reflect physical health and, therefore, survival and reproduction. In other words, people who appear attractive to others may be better reproductive partners because they are healthier than average.
Studies suggest that immune function correlates with facial attractiveness. By fending off microbes and parasites that cause disease, a well-functioning immune system may increase the likelihood of both survival and reproductive success. However, traditionally, these studies measured immune function only indirectly, leading to mixed and inconclusive results.
Now, a study published in February 2022 suggests that facial attractiveness may provide insights into one’s immune function, particularly as it relates to one’s ability to efficiently combat (primarily) bacterial threats. For the study, researchers measured immune function directly, using a comprehensive set of laboratory-based tests, including—among others—natural killer cell function and phagocytosis. Natural killer cells are cells of the innate immune system, and play a pivotal role in defending against viruses and cancer. Phagocytosis is a process carried out by the so-called phagocytic cells (or big eaters), resulting in destruction of bacteria.
For the study, scientists asked 159 study participants (women and men averaging 20 years old) to pose for professional headshots in which they maintained neutral facial expressions and wore no make-up or jewelry. The scientists also collected health information and blood samples for immune function testing. Then, they recruited 492 additional study participants (women and men, averaging 25 years old) and asked them to rate the facial attractiveness of the other participants based on the photographs that were taken. The scientists linked the photograph-based ratings with immune function (as assessed by laboratory tests), and found that participants with stronger immune function were rated as more attractive.
The scientists conclude that “although future research is needed replicate these results, the current research suggests that a relationship between facial attractiveness and immune function is likely to exist.”
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24 Comments
Diego Roncal
I found this article connecting one’s health to how attractive they are extremely intriguing. Everyone has their own preference of who they like but it makes sense evolutionarily that someone in better health with a stronger immune system is seen as better looking, opening the door for reproduction and survival. The study that took headshots of 159 participants and showed them to another 492 participants to rate them on attractiveness is a good starting point, but it begs the question, how big of a role does health/attractiveness play compared to something else like personality, habits, and values? A way to answer this question is if next time, they take headshots of a group of participants and have another group rate them on attractiveness. Afterwards, the rater gets to meet and speak with the person they just rated. Then have them rate them a second time and see if they change how attractive the person they just met is.
After going through and analyzing various studies that deal with attractiveness, one piqued my interest. The goal of the researchers that conducted the study wanted to know if empathy played a role in how attractive people appeared to others. They gathered 35 participants from the Chongqing Normal University in China (including 18 females and 17 males) between the ages of 18 and 24 years old. All participants were isolated and seated in a silent room and participated in 2 tasks. The first was to say whether or not the photo of the people they were shown expressed any pain. For the second task, they were presented with photos of individuals they previously saw and were asked to rate them on their attractiveness. The participants did end up rating some people more attractive than others, but that gap closed when they were shown those same people in pain. In other words, participants did not find one person more attractive than the other when both expressed levels of pain in their face. Dr. Jing Meng and their team’s results suggest that empathy inhibits attractiveness perception.
This study does not necessarily have to do with how healthy someone is but it shows how a value such as empathy does play a role when deciding what somebody finds attractive. In summary, it’s true, overall health makes people more attractive but so do personality, habits, and values.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32218469/
Ali Pirani
I find it very fascinating how science plays a role in society’s beauty standards. As the article states, many research studies have found features such as clear skin, high cheekbones, full lips, etc., are considered to be the main beauty standards. Beauty standards can be influenced by many different factors such as biological, psychological, culturally, evolutionary, and social. In biological studies, features that hold the standards of beauty are a sign of good genes and health that can be passed on to the next generation. I agree with this theory to a certain extent. An article from the Boston University School of Medicine states that the perception of beauty has fluctuated over the course of many years. An example is a Western culture in the 20th century. The hourglass body shape can be followed as the main beauty standard over the course of this time but many other features have varied such as the body mass index and facial features. Cognitive factors are also important in determining facial attractiveness in adults. An article from Hui Kou discusses the research studies that show that the cognitive processing of facial features in adults is similar to those of infants’ faces. The point of attractiveness in adult and infant faces is influenced by the idea of mate selection and producing offspring as the evolutionary theory states. Attanasio raises an interesting idea on how immune functions can play a role in beauty standards. However, I agree only to a certain extent. I think that the factors in determining facial attractiveness are more than immune factors although it does play a role. I believe beauty standards can be influenced by economic, social, evolutionary, environmental, biological, psychological, and cultural. All these factors play a role in the constantly changing beauty standards. Although I do find it interesting how one’s beauty can be an indicator of one’s health.
Boston University School of Medicine. “What constitutes beauty and how is it perceived? Role of social media may create unrealistic expectations for cosmetic procedures.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 5 June 2019. .
Kou H, Xie Q, Bi T. Mechanisms for the Cognitive Processing of Attractiveness in Adult and Infant Faces: From the Evolutionary Perspective. Front Psychol. 2020 Mar 11;11:436. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00436. PMID: 32218762; PMCID: PMC7078348.
Samantha Persaud
After reading this article in-depth it is really interesting to see that immune function correlates with facial attractiveness. To sum up, what I’m understanding is that the healthier your immune system is the more attractive you are in reality. If the immune system can impact beauty…I can’t imagine the other things it may impact on ourselves.
One article I found from February 2022 claims that “perceived attractiveness is determined by multiple covarying cues that the visual system can exploit to determine attractiveness from a single glance.” This article has a relation to Roberta Attanasio. How she talks about how certain features are deemed attractive throughout recorded human history. Just like something so specific as cheekbones to eyes, perception has a lot to do with attractiveness according to both studies.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34541676/
Redesh Rai
Resource: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34645612/
The blog post touched on a subject in high prominence currently in mainstream media, the topic of “pretty privilege.” Pretty privilege is a concept where people with more attractive facial features receive better treatment. Although I’ve never analyzed the subject from an immunological perspective, it was interesting to see that a correlation between immunological strength and facial beauty has the potential to exist.
The primary hormone that leads to the development of masculine features in males is testosterone. Since the blog post states that attractive facial features lead to better immunological features, I wanted to see if there was any correlation between testosterone and immune function. The question I want to ask is, “do higher levels of testosterone lead to better immune function?”
The paper found shows how testosterone can lead to better immune function by activating mechanisms to fight prostate cancer. Specifically, supraphysiologic testosterone, which is a high level of testosterone, can be antagonistic to prostate cancer. The extreme growth of prostate cancer has been linked to lipid metabolism for their growth. One pathway that testosterone can lead to the death of cancerous cells is the accumulation of lipid peroxides inside the cell, hindering the metabolism of lipids.
All in all, testosterone has been linked to better facial features in men and also linked to mechanisms that inhibit the metabolism of lipids in cells of prostate cancer origins.
Redesh Rai
Resource: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33721143/
The blog post touched on a subject in high prominence currently in mainstream media, the topic of “pretty privilege.” Pretty privilege is a concept where people with more attractive facial features receive better treatment. Although I’ve never analyzed the subject from an immunological perspective, it was interesting to see that a correlation between immunological strength and facial beauty has the potential to exist.
Redesh Rai
Hey, this was a mistake. I accidentally submitted the comment without finishing the assignment. The one submitted later is my actual post.
Jamii L.
Physical attractiveness has a likely linkage between a strong immune system. Scientist have found that individuals rated as the most attractive, possess natural killer cells with a higher ability to kill bacteria. Historically and scientifically, beauty has been deemed as individuals who have un-blemished skin, high cheekbones, light eyes, a symmetrical face, etc. Although the direct link has not been discovered yet, the overall discovery is tremendously enlightening. However, the feature weight is not mentioned as criteria for physical attractiveness. Can a person’s weight affect their overall immune system functionality?
In the article published in 2021, the question was posed to scientist. Obesity has been linked to chronic inflammation, which produces cytokines causing immune system dysregulation. It was theorized that the protein, PDL1, participate in the development of obesity. Two groups of mice were tested, one normal, the other group genetical modified to lack PDL1. PDL1 keeps immune cells from attacking nonharmful cells in the body. It also, “regulates adipose tissue immune cell composition…” The results clearly demonstrated a that the immunoregulator, PD-L1 played a key role for the control of weight/obesity.
In conclusion, weight certainly has a factor in the regulation of the immune system and its overall ability to fight of infection. It would be interesting to see weight added as criteria on further studies on the link between physical attractiveness and the immune system.
References:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/could-regulating-immune-cells-treat-diet-induced-obesity#Study-implications
https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/pdl1-immunotherapy-tests/
Tigsty Abraha
I find it interesting that scientists hypothesize a relationship between facial attractiveness and immune function. I find this connection interesting because I would always see videos about how to hide pimples or drink more water to keep the skin hydrated. Still, I never thought about attractiveness being how to keep your body healthy or having an adequate immune system.
I am curious how measuring one’s immune functions can be related to their attractiveness. The blog, The unexpected gift of a strong immune system: we’re more attractive sclerosis, mentioned that “research finds that features such as clear skin… have been deemed attractive throughout recorded human history.” Acne can be found on many faces, so how do immune functions, such as phagocytosis, play a role in one’s attractiveness?
After reading the article, Dermal fibroblast phagocytosis of apoptotic cells: A novel pathway for wound resolution, researchers are hypothesizing that “fibroblasts might serve as phagocytes involved in endothelial cell removal.” Endothelial cells mainly reduce the friction of blood flow in the vessels. Since acne is primarily a result of cells lacking nutrients, I think that the endothelial cells cause inefficient blood flow to certain areas of the face, resulting in acne. If researchers can confirm the hypothesis that fibroblasts might serve as phagocytes, then I think a person with a good immune system would have fibroblasts to remove these endothelial cells. Terminating the endothelial cells would result in clearer skin and, thus, more attractive.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33749877/
Bonita Smith
According to the article: The unexpected gift of a strong immune system: we’re more attractive, the author Attanasio provides information in regards to a study suggesting individuals with better immune systems appear to be more attractive. In hindsight this makes sense in the fact that its possible that individuals who keep up great healthcare practices also have healthy hygeine practices that would therefore bring about a higher level of attractiveness than someone with poor hygiene and bad health. However, given the variables in the study I don’t understand how the researcher was able to come to such a vague conclusion. Many have heard the saying “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” which means beauty is subject to an individual’s preferance and therefore what one person may deem to beautiful another may feel otherwise.
After reading the pubmed article: “Contrast Effect of Facial Attractiveness in Groups” the aricle provides information in regards to a study that focuses on the influence of individual perspectives of attractiveness when given different presentations of the subject observed. The results of the study concluded that when each subject was placed next to a special face or the presentation of the subject was different then their attractiveness rating also changed. With that being said in future studies what exact variables will be studies to make a stronger correlation between immunity and attraction?
Tigsty Abraha
I find it interesting that scientists hypothesize a relationship between facial attractiveness and immune function. I find this connection interesting because I would always see videos about how to hide pimples or drink more water to keep the skin hydrated. Still, I never thought about attractiveness being how to keep your body healthy or having an adequate immune system.
I am curious how measuring one’s immune functions can be related to their attractiveness. The blog, The unexpected gift of a strong immune system: we’re more attractive sclerosis, mentioned that “research finds that features such as clear skin… have been deemed attractive throughout recorded human history.” Acne can be found on many faces, so how do immune functions, such as phagocytosis, play a role in one’s attractiveness?
After reading the article, Dermal fibroblast phagocytosis of apoptotic cells: A novel pathway for wound resolution, researchers are hypothesizing that “fibroblasts might serve as phagocytes involved in endothelial cell removal.” Endothelial cells mainly reduce the friction of blood flow in the vessels. Since acne is primarily a result of cells lacking nutrients, I think that the endothelial cells cause inefficient blood flow to certain areas of the face, resulting in acne. If researchers can confirm the hypothesis that fibroblasts might serve as phagocytes, then I think a person with a good immune system would have fibroblasts to remove these endothelial cells. Terminating the endothelial cells would result in clearer skin and, thus, more attractive.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33749877/
Samaria Codougan
Excellent article, it’s definitely interesting to know even something like our immune system has an effect on how attractive we are visual. I’m curious to see how deep they explore this phenomenon. I wonder if there are any discrepancies between men and women. Which gender is more likely to favor a mate with a more responsive immune system? Do some celebrities who are widely considered attractive have reactive immune systems overall? These are just some questions that come to mind when reading the article. However, the first question that came to mind had to do with what else the immune system impacts.
We’ve established that our immune systems lend to more attractive faces but do they indicate a more attractive natural body odor? A study was done by Scwambergova et.al, which find that there is no evidence of an association between body odor and immune system function. They assessed some important factors of innate and adaptive immunity like complement activity and t cell count. Then, 95 raters were asked about attractiveness, health, and intensity of body odor. No significant correlation in either study was found.
source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34343779/
Danielle Carter
Although the quote “ beauty is in the eyes of the beholder” is universally well-respected, there seem to be some average and computational biases that make up the definition of beauty. This article specifically highlights popular beauty standards, with an immunological-based explanation of them. Popular beauty standards mentioned are clear skin, bright eyes, and full lips. The immunological explanation for these traits was linked to Natural Killer cells and Phagocytosis. Are there any memory cells or other immunological cells relative to any of these beauty traits?
Recently, a study suggested that migration and function of Memory CD8+ T cells are involved in important systems like skin. Having clear skin is deemed an attractive factor for humans. CD8 T cells have different mechanisms of development, recruitment, and overall maintenance in response to skin-derived signals.
In this article, mouse and human skin were discussed, with these cells present. In humans, we have CD4 T cells and CD8 T cells that make up a high amount (98%) of our skin. Mice skin has two particular subsets of these cells. This article conveyed that Antigen-specific CD8+ T lymphocytes become activated and proliferate in response to priming in the lymph node by skin-migratory dendritic cells bearing cognate antigen. These signals, when combined, allow effector CD8+ T lymphocytes to enter inflamed skin efficiently. Skin diseases such as Vitiligo (autoimmune skin illnesses) were also conveyed to be caused by type 1 CD8+ T cells. These T cells are generally known to help fight infections and autoimmune diseases.
Overall, this further reassures and shows a positive relationship between having healthy immune cells to fight autoimmune diseases ( that can cause “unattractive” symptoms. Without proper functioning of T cells in the immune system to combat these issues, one may be more likely to less attractive symptoms such as different types of skin inflammation.
Article:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7573784/
Danielle Carter
Although the quote “ beauty is in the eyes of the beholder” is universally well- respected, there does seem to be some average and computational biases that makeup what the definition of beauty is. This article specifically highlights popular beauty standards, with an immunological based explanation of them. Some popular beauty standards mentioned are clear skin, bright eyes, and full lips. The immunological explanation from these traits were linked to Natural Killer cells and Phagocytosis. Are there any memory cells or other immunological cells that are relative to any of these beauty traits?
Recently, a study suggested that migration and function of Memory CD8+ T cells are involved in important systems like skin. Having clear skin is one of the factors that line up with rates of attraction. CD8 T cells have different mechanisms of development, recruitment and overall maintenance in response to skin- derived signals.
In this article, mouse and human skin was discussed, with these cells present. In humans, we have CD4 T cells and CD8 T cells that make up a high amount (98%) of our skin. Mice skin has two particular subsets of these cells. This article conveyed that Antigen-specific CD8+ T lymphocytes become activated and proliferate in response to priming in the lymph node by skin-migratory dendritic cells bearing cognate antigen. These signals, when combined, allow effector CD8+ T lymphocytes to enter inflamed skin efficiently. Skin diseases such as Vitiligo (autoimmune skin illnesses) were also scientifically explored and conveyed to be caused by type 1 CD8+ T cells. These T cells are generally known to help fight infections and autoimmune diseases.
Overall, this further reassures and shows a positive relationship between having healthy immune cells to fight autoimmune diseases ( that can cause “unattractive” symptoms). Without proper functioning of T cells in the immune system to combat these issues, one may be more likely to less attractive traits skin inflammation and acne.
Article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7573784/
Eunice Bolay
Many people can say that beauty ideology could be solely based on a social construct. This construct means whatever people think is considered “beautiful” is based on social norms, social interaction, and culture. However, if referring to beauty in a biological aspect, the perspective of evolutionary beauty will not be considered a construct but rather a biological adaption.
The article above, “The unexpected gift of a strong immune system: we’re more attractive,” takes the stand on beauty in a biological aspect. The article stated, “Studies suggest that immune function correlates with facial attractiveness.” The article and the study used to construct this reading; highlight that beauty/attractiveness is proportional to one’s immune system level. However, the oldest averaging age rate in the two trials was 25 years old. The results showed that the strong immune function individuals were rated as more attractive.
Due to this finding, questions arose, and I was determined to answer them.
My questions were “If the individuals tested were grouped into two groups; one group containing young individuals with few having weak immune systems and some having healthy immune systems, and the second group containing individuals over 50 years old with all having healthy immune systems, will the results be the same?” “Will society automatically pick the younger individuals as being more attractive?” “Will having a stronger immune function matter”? All these questions relate to the overall theme: having a stronger immune system makes you more attractive”.
I discovered a recent research study called “The effect of aging on facial attractiveness: An empirical and computational investigation.” This study was very similar to the one above. However, the age range was greater. The study involved young and old adults with similar immune system strength. This study highlights those with older faces are rated as less attractive in physical appearance than young faces. The aging of the older participants is accompanied by the decline in the function of the lymphoid and non-lymphoid tissue that is involved in the immune response. Rather the older individuals had a healthy immune systems, the odds of aging were present. Automatically many people voted that the younger individuals were more attractive. These findings were fascinating and suggested that the level of immune strength could increase one’s beauty; however, age can also be a factor; if society considers you “attractive”.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34455180/
Kristen Bharadwaj
This article by the Global Fool talks about how a better immune system can allow for you to have better facial attractiveness to others. A study done in February 2022 had tested the immunity of participants and then asked them to rate each other and found that the participants with better immunity were rated higher. While beauty is within the eye of the beholder, there are certain characteristics that are considered to be attractive to most people if not all. The article mentions characteristics like clear skin, which stuck out to me because there are many factors that go into clear skin, and immunity can be one of them. For example, a study by Lo et al in 2021 mentions how “the gut microbiota can contribute to immune responses associated with diseases outside the intestine.” This shows the relevance of gut health for immunity, and the gut microbiome can influence the immune system and vice versa. Also, from my understanding, the gut plays an important role in clear skin along with other factors like vitamins, hormones, inflammation, etc.. This can support the theory that better immunity leads to being more attractive because if you have a good immune system, you are likely to have a good microbiome and vice versa which would lead to having clear skin. However, there are many things to be considered when it comes to attractiveness and while immunity can have an impact on your skin, there are other things that make people attractive that are relative to each individual. While immunity can have an impact on physical appearance, so can many other factors excluding immunity. For example, hormones and pheromones play an important role in attractiveness: women tend to be more attractive and have more symmetrical faces while they are ovulating. Considering this, it seems like overall health and wellness can impact your attractiveness, and the most important thing people can do for their beauty is to take care of their health.
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33367688/
Albert Shuhar
Evolutionarily it was always thought that having prominent cheekbones, big eyes, red lips, and clear facial skin were characteristics of a healthy person. I remember being told in my history classes that every noblewoman was trying to show off these characteristics to others throughout history. This meant that she was healthy and had more chances of finding a husband. As it turns out, based on Dr. Attanasios’ article, the standards did not change that much. People still look at these facial characteristics and correlate them to having a strong immune system. But after reading this article, I started wondering what natural and normal events could change a person’s facial attractiveness, leading to a thought of a worse immune system.
After looking through a lot of articles, I have found an interesting one that had some interesting findings related to the topic. It was called “Shifts in Female Attractiveness during Pregnancy.” We all know that the whole female body changes during pregnancies, including their immune system. Thus, it would be safe to conclude that the facial features would change as well, which this article says. For this study, 117 men were asked to rate a female facial attractiveness before, during, and after her pregnancy. By looking at the pictures before and after the pregnancy, it was evident that the female’s lips became paler (were not as red as before), and her skin tone changed as well. These changes would lead us to think that her immune system got weaker. Thus, it was not a surprise that most men in this research said that the facial attractiveness of this female was higher before the pregnancy.
Thus, as it turned out, pregnancy changes some facial attractiveness characteristics, meaning that the immune system and other bodily systems are going through changes. The interesting thing in this finding was that the woman in the pictures in the study did not change a lot, but subconsciously most men could still see the difference because it is evolutionarily embedded in them to spot these things to find the healthiest partner.
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32709046/
Mohamed Mohamed
I will think that individual facial attractiveness solely depends on how other people see them. A person may seem attractive to one and not viewed the same by other. The article stated that facial attractiveness might play a huge role in one’s immune system and how it fights bacteria. Though will genes such as MHC II have any impact on shaping the way men and women’s attractiveness?
Recently, a study suggested that genes such as Major Histocompatibility class II (MHC) have a role in how an individual may be viewed as attractive or less attractive. MHC are groups of genes that help the immune system identify foreign substances on the surface of the cells. The research has found a positive relationship between MHC and male facial attractiveness, while they didn’t find any conclusion between female attractiveness and MHC diversity. The study attempts to advance their investigation of whether MHC heterozygosity influences humans the way we choose mate preferences. Surprisingly, the result suggests that preferences for MHC between males and female faces even though the initial result was inconclusive for females. Different factors were put into consideration, such as age. And fat content, the overall result suggests that the main gene that is possibly responsible for facial attractiveness is MHC class II DQB1. The same gene is also known for fighting infections and autoimmune diseases. This concludes that there is a significant relation between facial attractiveness and MHC class II and that people with a high range of MHC class II may be viewed as more attractive.
References.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33715474/
Mohamed Mohamed
References
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33715474/
Mohamed Mohamed
I will think that individual facial attractiveness solely depends on how other people see them. A person may seem attractive to one and not viewed the same by other. The article stated that facial attractiveness might play a huge role in one’s immune system and how it fights the bacteria. Though will genes such as MHC II have any impact on shaping the way men and women’s attractiveness?
Recently, the study suggested that genes such as Major Histocompatibility class II (MHC) have a role in how an individual may be viewed as attractive or less attractive. MHC are groups of genes that help the immune system identify foreign substances on the surface of the cells. The research has found a positive relationship between MHC and male facial attractiveness, while they didn’t find any conclusion between female attractiveness and MHC diversity. The study attempts to advance their investigation of whether MHC heterozygosity influences humans the way we choose mate preferences. Surprisingly, the result suggests that preferences for MHC between males and female faces even though the initial result was inconclusive for females. Different factors were put into consideration, such as age. and fat content, the overall result suggests that the main gene that is possibly responsible for facial attractiveness is MHC class II DQB1. The same gene is also known for fighting infections and autoimmune diseases. This concludes that there is a significant relation between facial attractiveness and MHC class II and that people with a high range of MHC class II may be viewed as more attactractive.
Mohamed Mohamed
References
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33715474/
Travis Patrick
In the post by Dr. Attanasio, she mentions that studies suggest immune function may correlate with increased reproductive success. I know there are many diseases and bacteria that reduce the likelihood of a successful pregnancy and infections that attack the immune system. Many of these diseases are treatable and can be removed, but there are some which there are still no cures for them. For instance, one example is acquired immune deficiency (AIDS), which has been around for decades. Why is there still no cure for it, and what makes it so difficult to treat?
I read an article that talks about the past forty years of research on AIDS, which that explains to cure AIDS fully, you must remove all the latent viral reservoirs. Previous research has only been able to produce drugs that slow down viral replication but not fully eliminate it. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the main reason for the acquiring of AIDS, and once this virus infects host cells, it integrates its host genome into many cell types. The cells then reside in lymphoid tissue in the body. I found it interesting that natural killer cells produced by the immune system are not sufficient to remove the virus. The only way to prevent the virus from thriving is by taking drugs every day to help eliminate the virus when it leaves a cell.
Reference: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34013858/
Pravin Samal
This article by Dr. Roberta Asstansio is fascinating and highlights the relationship between facial attractiveness and immune function. It is always interesting that most people find certain features more attractive than others. It could be due to the environment and culture someone grows up in, but it could also have its immunological bases. It can be that we are attracted to certain features because it indicates a robust immune system.
Looking more into this topic, I came across an article titled “More than just a pretty face? The relationship between immune function and perceived facial attractiveness.” This article studies the relationship between the target’s health and immunocompetence. One of the main findings in this paper was that women who found men more attractive had higher natural killer (NK) cell function. NK cells are cytotoxic cells that are critical for our innate immune system, and the activity of NK cells’ function can indicate the strength of someone’s immune system. Usually, the higher function of NK cells indicates stronger immunity.
I find this article extremely interesting because I always wondered about the biological reasons behind the person, we find attractive. This article shows the actual/potential link between attractiveness and biology, which is that activeness indicates a strong immune system. However, I think that we also must keep in mind that the culture and society also greatly influence our opinion on features that we find attractive. Therefore, I believe more research is needed to estimate better the degree to which attractiveness indicates a strong immune system.
Reference: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35168398/
Yogeeta Frank
This article revealed that attractive facial features can be correlated to having a strong immune system which evolves into finding a potential partner and producing healthy offspring. It made me wonder if there is more to this hypothesis than facial attractiveness.
I found a study published in December 2021, that suggests there is more to one’s immunity than facial attractiveness. The study used different face shapes and colorations of men and women to determine what features are deemed a healthier look. The study concluded that faces that have a wide, short face with a healthy-looking glow are the type of attractiveness linked to a healthier immune system. In addition, the scientist also states that the importance of a healthy lifestyle measures higher immunocompetence. However, more research is need to be done on this hypothesis.
I believe there is more research to be done to discover a more defined relationship between facial attractiveness and a strong immune function.
Article link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34625347/
Ji Hyun Kang
From this article, I learned that facial attractiveness may be correlated with healthy immune system as people were inclined to be attracted to those with high-functioning natural killer (NK) cells, which are immune cells that attack pathogens. Even though the participants were rated solely based on a headshot, people with effective NK cells were selected to be the most attractive. This led me to wonder what type of effects NK cells had on physical appearance and thus overall attractiveness.
I found an article from 2020 which suggested that NK cells could improve certain skin conditions like atopic dermatitis (eczema). Prevalent in children and adults, the inflammatory skin disease is associated with sensitivity to allergens and is currently treated by suppressing the immune system. However, the researchers in the study found that mice with eczema had low levels of circulating NK cells. After increasing a cytokine (signaling molecules released by immune cells) called interleukin-15, the numbers of NK cells increased which ultimately alleviated the inflammation and restored immunity in mice. To confirm the results, the researchers then induced the mice to be unable to create NK cells and found the inflammation of the skin to be worsened. The study suggested that by restoring NK cells and its functions, allergic diseases could be kept under control.
Since skin condition is one of the main factors that determine not only confidence but also first impressions, people who were rated high for facial attractiveness may have had clear skin which suggested healthy immune system to other participants.
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32102931