Immune System Modelling and Simulation
26
so many events pertaining to evolution the antibody saga is
impressive for its apparent waste of energy, cells and effort.
However, nature may be blind, but not dumb. She does not
want to throw away the work that goes into the construction
of an antibody if it binds the antigen, only because its affi nity is
low. Thriftily, she applies hypermutation, a perfect Darwinian
tool, where the antigen has furnished the energy for the binding
(and probably the non-specifi c danger signal [12]). The change,
hopefully an improvement, is stochastic, and the antigen has
its fi nal role as a selector. Since this process will be repeated,
it strikes us as an admirable exercise of modulation, not so
different in its end ...