Jamie Cunliffe: home page

It is mostly concerned with MORPHOSTASIS

The term "morphostasis" has been extensively developed in the social sciences and cybernetics. Its etymological derivation implies "keeping form and shape the same". Here it is applied to the arena of intracellular and "tissue homeostasis". This homeostasis is heavily dependent on the effective deployment of circulating white cells — particularly phagocytes, then lymphocytes and closely related cells.

In a series of published articles I have challenged the conventional view of immunology. Or, at least, the view that was widely extant in 1994 for the corporate view has changed since then — largely in response to the "danger" hypothesis (Polly Matzinger). But, I do not believe that it has changed as far as it should. The old view saw (and mostly still sees) the system primarily as a foreign-organism hunting and killing system. I propose that a radical reconstruction of perspective can resolve the problems that have led this old view to a crisis. Regardless of whether any particular person or groups of people are deemed to have "discovered" it, immunology will soon be witness to one of the most dramatic conceptual-Jack-in-the-Boxes, in any science, ever.

The usual response upon submission of my articles to science journals has been rejection — even ejection. Until 2006, only Medical Hypotheses and the Southampton Health Journal had risked publication. The September 2006 issue of the Scandinavian Journal of Immunology presented my first paper in a mainstream Immunology journal.

You can judge, for yourself, whether most of these ideas are "home grown" or whether they are borrowed (but note Voltaire's viewpoint and my observation that, although I have often believed that I had had an original thought, I could later find an instance in some paper — that I previously MUST have read — that could, indeed, have percolated away in my subconscious mind). Should you decide that this web site still promotes important perspectives that "normal science" continues to ignore (and re-arranging perspectives is what this web site is all about) then please consider whether you should draw other peoples' attention to it. The major camps promoting new perspectives in immunology, whilst aware of this work, do little to bring attention to it (for benign, indifferent or malign reasons - I am not aware which applies).

Cave lector (you beware reader) — it is all opinion. Only believe what you trust and be suspicious of all views paraded as immutable truths.

Note added 2018/04/09

One way of conceptualisinging the "immune system" is to assume that it is a system that identifies, dismantles and destroys dysfunctional self-tissues and then sets in motion a process that attempts to regenerate them. As such, inflammation sits at its hub and all immune activities are organised to improve inflammation's management of the process. (Note that all damage – and that includes infection – leads to dysfunctional self-tissues.)

This page has links (on the left) to:

[This site was radically reconstructed – beginning in March 2015.]

[I am still finding occasional unfinished items and broken links. Please let me know if you find something unfinished – particularly if you wish to see the comments.]