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The body’s ability to fight infections successfully relies on the generation of millions of distinct antibodies every day1. But what ensures that these antibodies target only foreign disease-causing agents and not the body’s own tissues? Writing in Nature, Li et al.2 describe changes in antibody-encoding DNA sequences that ensure a diverse range of antibodies are generated while simultaneously preventing the formation of genes that encode self-reacting antibodies.

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Nature 653, 684-686 (2026)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-01329-7

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Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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