Stress ages your immune system faster

+ what the Fed is trying to do; dismantling a Watergate myth US Edition - Today's top story: Social stress can speed up immune system aging – new research [View in browser]( US Edition | 15 June 2022 [The Conversation]( Stress can be toxic. From cardiovascular disease and depression to obesity and chronic pain, stress has been linked to a number of mental and physical ailments. New research brings clarity to one more – accelerated aging of your immune system. Postdoctoral researcher Eric Klopack from the University of Southern California and his colleagues examined survey and blood test data from a nationwide study on aging that has been running since 1990. They found that social stressors like financial strain, traumatic experiences and everyday discrimination may affect the composition of immune T cells in our bodies, [weakening our ability to fight off pathogens](. Also today: - [The legal fights over preferred pronouns in schools]( - [The right to privacy in constitutional law]( - [Why defining what the metaverse is matters]( And this note: Today we are launching a fundraising campaign to help us wrap up our fiscal year in 16 days on a solid financial footing. The work we do to bring the knowledge of experts to the public is more vital than ever, and we hope you find it worthy of your support. [Donate]( Thank you in advance. Vivian Lam Assistant Health and Biomedicine Editor Immunosenescence, or immune aging, can lead to less effective responses to vaccines and greater vulnerability to invading pathogens. Kudryavtsev Pavel/iStock via Getty Images Plus [Social stress can speed up immune system aging – new research]( Eric Klopack, University of Southern California While the immune system naturally gets weaker with age, social stressors like trauma and discrimination can hasten immunosenescence, or immune aging. Economy + Business - [5 things to know about the Fed’s interest rate increase and how it will affect you]( D. Brian Blank, Mississippi State University The Fed is pondering the largest increase in interest rates in nearly three decades to fight stubborn inflation. A finance expert explains what’s happening, the risks and what it means for consumers. Politics + Society - [Woodward and Bernstein didn’t bring down a president in Watergate – but the myth that they did lives on]( W. Joseph Campbell, American University School of Communication Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward broke stories about the Watergate scandal that helped unravel Richard Nixon’s presidency. But they were not the sole force to bring him down. - [Trump-endorsed candidates would generally win even without his support – and that’s usually the case with all political endorsements]( Ian Anson, University of Maryland, Baltimore County Bottom line: Political endorsements are overrated. - [International courts prosecuting leaders like Putin for war crimes have a mixed record – but offer clues on how to get a conviction]( Victor Peskin, Arizona State University Prosecuting a leader like Vladimir Putin accused of war crimes is difficult. But the trial of Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic in the early 2000s offers a potential playbook. - [Privacy isn’t in the Constitution – but it’s everywhere in constitutional law]( Scott Skinner-Thompson, University of Colorado Boulder The Supreme Court has found protections for people’s privacy in several constitutional amendments – and used it as a basis for some pretty fundamental protections. Science + Technology - [The James Webb Space Telescope is finally ready to do science – and it’s seeing the universe more clearly than even its own engineers hoped for]( Marcia Rieke, University of Arizona It has taken eight months to test and calibrate all of the instruments and modes of the James Webb Space Telescope. A scientist on the team explains what it took to get Webb up and running. - [How we describe the metaverse makes a difference – today’s words could shape tomorrow’s reality and who benefits from it]( Tom Boellstorff, University of California, Irvine Who makes money from the metaverse, and how, comes down to what it becomes. And shaping the metaverse is, to a large degree, a matter of definitions. Health + Medicine - [Trouble paying bills can take a heavy toll on fathers’ mental health, leading to family conflict]( Joyce Y. Lee, The Ohio State University In families that are facing economic insecurity, fathers are more likely to experience depressive symptoms that can lead to conflict. Education - [Legal fights persist over policies that require teachers to refer to trans students by their chosen pronouns]( Genny Beemyn, UMass Amherst For trans students, the right to be recognized by the pronouns they use for themselves is under constant legal attack. A researcher who specializes in the trans student experience takes a closer look. Trending on site - [Newly discovered fast radio burst challenges what astronomers know about these powerful astronomical phenomena]( - [Why can’t you remember being born, learning to walk or saying your first words? What scientists know about ‘infantile amnesia’]( - [Why Muslim countries are quick at condemning defamation – but often ignore rights violations against Muslim minorities]( Today's graphic [A chart showing the number of mass shooting deaths from 1981 to 2017. The chart also notes the assault weapons ban that was passed in 1994 and expired in 2004.]( From the story, [Did the assault weapons ban of 1994 bring down mass shootings? Here’s what the data tells us]( - - About The Conversation: We're a nonprofit news organization dedicated to [helping academic experts share ideas with the public](. We can give away our articles thanks to the help of foundations, universities and readers like you. [Donate now to support research-based journalism]( [The Conversation]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation]( 303 Wyman Street, Suite 300 Waltham, MA 02451 [Forward to a friend]( • [Unsubscribe](