Reprogramming immunity: Code that could save us | Gordon Broderick | TEDxUniversityofSaskatchewan

Quick Overview

Gordon Broderick and his team developed a rudimentary digital twin of the immune system by compiling decades of research and coding, which allowed them to simulate autoimmune and persistent conditions like Gulf War illness, ultimately finding that a sequential two-drug treatment—an anti-inflammatory followed by a hormone regulator—rescued up to 70% of simulated patients.

Key Points: The speaker, inspired by the Apollo 8 mission's precise navigation, wondered if his own overreacting immune system had a control computer that could be reprogrammed. Scientists like Stuart Kaufman and Eric Davidson developed the concept of the cell's control circuitry and coined the term 'genomic computer' for DNA, attracting engineers to biology. Transplant biologist Charlie Oros proposed that the millions of coordinating immune cells form a sophisticated 'thinking machine' that runs programs like 'Fight infection' but sometimes runs the wrong program, causing autoimmune illnesses. In patient studies involving maximum-capacity exercise, researchers observed repair signals firing persistently long after recovery, indicating the immune system was 'stuck in survival mode' without fading inflammation. Building a digital twin of the immune system by mining tens of thousands of research papers allowed the team to reproduce molecular signatures seen in sick patients after exposure to a 'digital virus' or chemicals. Testing thousands of FDA-approved drugs on the digital twin showed no single drug worked, but combining an anti-inflammatory followed by a hormone regulator in the correct sequence rescued up to 70% of digital patients. The digital twin's predicted sequence was validated when it successfully recovered a mouse model reproducing decades-long persistent symptoms seen in Gulf War veterans, leading to human trials.

Context: The presentation begins with Gordon Broderick recalling watching the Apollo 8 mission in 1968, which contrasted sharply with his own experience of having an immune system that overreacted severely to everyday stimuli, prompting him to question if the body had a control computer like the spacecraft. This curiosity aligns with a broader scientific movement where engineers began applying control circuitry concepts to biology, leading to the idea that the immune system acts as a complex, coordinated computer capable of running programs to fight infection or heal wounds.