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Life amidst the contrivances

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The established dogma of 'horror autotoxicus' was overturned 50 years ago with the publication of a paper showing that autoimmune thyroiditis could be induced in animals. Noel Rose recounts the events that led to the establishment of autoimmunity as a cause of disease.

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References

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Rose, N. Life amidst the contrivances. Nat Immunol 7, 1009–1011 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/ni1006-1009

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ni1006-1009

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