A closer look
You aren't just getting older; your immune system is going bankrupt. Scientists tracking immune aging biomarkers have found that chronic, silent pathogens—especially the ubiquitous cytomegalovirus—trap your cellular defenses in an endless state of low-grade warfare. Over decades, this relentless battle severely depletes your reserve of 'naive' T-cells—the fresh recruits needed to identify novel viruses. This phenomenon, known as immunosenescence, explains why the elderly succumb to minor seasonal bugs: their internal armies are comprised entirely of exhausted veteran cells fighting ghosts of past infections, leaving no resources for new threats.
