Immunoscreening

Ok kiddo, so you know how our bodies have special things called antibodies that help fight off germs and make us feel better when we get sick? Well, scientists can use those antibodies to find out if there are any bad things in a sample, like a blood sample or a tissue sample.

It's kind of like a game of hide and seek, but instead of looking for a person, we're looking for a certain type of molecule. Scientists take a bunch of antibodies and put them on a special surface, like a tiny plate. Then, they add the sample they want to test and see if any of the antibodies stick to anything in the sample.

If an antibody sticks to something, then that might mean there's something bad in the sample. The scientists can then look closer at that part of the sample and figure out what it is. It's kind of like how you find a toy under your bed by looking for the spot where your stuffed animal is staring at it.

This process is called immunoscreening and helps us find things that we wouldn't be able to see otherwise. It's really cool because it helps doctors and scientists figure out what's making people sick and how to make them better.