Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Memory cells produced after a first infection shorten the response from weeks to days. The figure is taken from CDC, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a human body fact?

Yes. It sits on the Human Body shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

A second exposure triggers a much faster immune response

Memory cells produced after a first infection shorten the response from weeks to days After an infection, most effector cells die away but a small population of memory B and T cells persists for years. On meeting the same antigen again they multiply rapidly and release antibodies sooner. The resulting response is larger and faster, often stopping the infection before symptoms appear. It sits in Mondo's human body collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

CDC

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

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Science trivia

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Antibodies are Y-shaped proteins built from four chainsTwo heavy and two light protein chains form each antibody molecule The hippocampus replays the day to build memoriesDuring sleep, it reactivates recent patterns and passes them to the cortex Working memory holds just a handful of itemsMost people can keep only about four chunks of information active at once Tears carry an enzyme that breaks bacterial cell wallsLysozyme snips the sugar chains that hold bacterial walls together Most of the immune tissue sits along the gutAn estimated seventy percent of immune cells are stationed in the digestive lining White blood cells defend the body against infectious pathogensLeukocytes circulate in blood and tissue to destroy invading bacteria and viruses

Tags: memory, immunity, antibodies

A second exposure triggers a much faster immune response: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Memory cells produced after a first infection shorten the response from weeks to days. The figure is taken from CDC, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a human body fact?: Yes. It sits on the Human Body shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.