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Concept

clonal selection

A detailed illustration of a virus with numerous protruding tendrils, symbolizing the clonal selection process in acquired immunity.

The foundational theory of acquired immunity, first proposed by Frank Macfarlane Burnet in 1957. It states that an antigen does not instruct an immune cell how to build an antibody; instead, it selects a pre-existing cell with the correct matching receptor, triggering that specific cell to clone itself repeatedly.

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