Smoking changes your immune system, even years after quitting

00:45 Smoking’s long-term effects on immunity It’s well-known that smoking is bad for health and it has been linked to several autoimmune disorders, but the mechanisms are not fully understood. Now, researchers have investigated the immune responses of 1,000 people. Whilst some effects disappear after quitting, impacts on the T cell response lingers long after. The team hopes that this evidence could help better understand smoking’s association with autoimmune diseases. Research article: Saint-André et al. News and Views: Smoking’s lasting effect on the immune system 07:03 Research Highlights Why explosive fulminating gold produces purple smoke, and a curious act of altruism in a male northern elephant seal. Research Highlight: Why an ancient gold-based explosive makes purple smoke Research Highlight: ‘Altruistic’ bull elephant seal lends a helping flipper 09:28 Briefing Chat An author-based method to track down fake papers, and the new ocean lurking under the surface of one of Saturn’s moons. Nature News: Fake research papers flagged by analysing authorship trends Nature News: The Solar System has a new ocean — it’s buried in a small Saturn moon Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday: Image credit: Getty