: if our immune system become stronger every time we encounter a virus/bacteria/ect when we are young, why does it become weaker when we are old instead of continuing to improve?

Question

: if our immune system become stronger every time we encounter a virus/bacteria/ect when we are young, why does it become weaker when we are old instead of continuing to improve?

In: Biology

Answer 1

your immune system doesn’t really get better as you age, it just gets a wider skillset and develops new tools to fight infections in the form of anti-bodies and whatnot. You can put a better rifle in someone’s hands, but it wont do them a lot of good if their hands are shaky. the immune system does still get weaker with advanced age, like the rest of the body.