In November 2006, Kerry once apologizes after saying that college students needed to study hard or else they would "get stuck in Iraq."
On December 21, 2012, President Barack Obama nominated Kerry to succeed Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. The committee said yes on making Kerry the new Secretary of State. Kerry won confirmation by the Senate on January 29, 2012 by a 94-3 vote. He assumed the office of Secretary of State on February 1, 2013.
In a letter to Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, Kerry announced his resignation from the Senate effective February 1. Kerry was sworn in as Secretary of State on February 1, 2013.
On November 23, 2020, President-elect Joe Biden announced that Kerry will serve as the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate in the Biden administration. He was sworn in on January 20, 2021, the same day Biden was inaugurated as president.
He was married to Julia from 1970 until they divorced in 1988. Then he was married to Teresa Heinz since 1995. He has two children and three step-children. He now lives in Boston, Massachusetts. Kerry and his former competitor George W. Bush share an ancestor on Kerry's mother's side and Bush's father's side from the 1600s.
Kerry is 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) tall, enjoys surfing and windsurfing, as well as ice hockey, hunting and playing bass guitar. According to an interview he gave to "Rolling Stone" magazine in 2004, Kerry's favorite album is "Abbey Road" and he is a fan of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, as well as of Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Buffett. He never liked heavy metal. During his 2004 presidential campaign, Kerry used Bruce Springsteen's "No Surrender" as one of his campaign songs. Later he would adopt U2's "Beautiful Day" as his official campaign song.
In 2003, Kerry was diagnosed with and successfully treated for prostate cancer.
White blood cell
The job of white blood cells (also called "leukocytes") is to fight infections and cancer. They also remove poison, waste and damaged cells from the body.
The number of white blood cells increases when a person is fighting infection or disease and decrease when a person is healthy.
Lymphocytes are round white blood cells a bit bigger than a red blood cell. Their center is round and they have little cytoplasm. Part of the lymphatic system, these target specific germs or poisons using their antibodies. There are three known types of lymphocytes, called T-cells, B-cells, and natural killer cells (NK cells).
B-cells make antibodies, which are little molecules that attach to viruses or bad cells. These tell other cells to destroy the viruses or bad cells, like a flag.
T-cells can either help make more B-cells, or kill cells with antibodies.
Natural killer cells kill cells in the body that have been infected by a virus or that are part of a tumor. They are part of the innate immune system.
Monocytes are reserve cells which turn into macrophages and dendritic cells, which work together in tissues to fight disease. Monocytes have a kidney bean shaped center and lots of cytoplasm. They may appear as macrophages in a non-round shape when they pass through tissue to eat germs, "junk" cells, and dead cells.
The next three types of white blood cells are referred to as granulocytes since they all contain rough, grain-like particles that assist in attacking viruses and bacteria. Granulocytes are also called polymorphonuclear leukocytes because of the shape of the nucleus, which has three segments.
Neutrophils are the most abundant type of white blood cells in mammals, 70% of leukocytes. They are an essential part of the immune system. They get to the site of an injury within minutes, and make up much of the content of pus. They have a short life-span of a couple of days.
The nucleus, which looks like a string of beads, does not take up stain strongly. Like phagocytes, they actually eat the bacteria and dead cells. They also release a bunch of proteins which work to damage the bacteria.
Basophils, or basophil granulocytes, are rare granulocytes. If you collected 1000 white blood cells, only 13 of them would be basophils. Their nucleus is hidden by granules which turn dark blue in color when stained. Basophils carry histamine and heparin. They appear at the sites of ectoparasite infection, or allergies. We don't know exactly how they work.
Eosinophils, or "acidophils", are leukocytes. They are one of the immune system components which combat parasites and certain infections. As with mast cells and basophils, they part causes of allergy and asthma. Eosinophils are round cells with a lobed nucleus and granules which turn red when stained. These granules are packed with proteins that can be poured out to help destroy invaders.
A test called a differential count shows how many white blood cells there are in a person's blood, and how many of each type are there.
Lymphocyte
Lymphocytes are a type of white blood cell (or "leukocyte"). They help an organism to fight infections. They occur in the immune system of all vertebrates. All lymphoctes have a large, blob-like nucleus.
Lymphocytes can be divided into three main types:
Natural killer (NK) cells are a part of the immune system a person is born with. They protect the organism from tumours and from cells infected by viruses. Natural killer cells are made active by chemicals released by damaged cells called interferons.
Natural killer cells can tell the difference between infected cells, tumours, and normal cells. They recognise changes in the level of a surface molecule called MHC (major histocompatibility complex) class I.
The NK cells then release cytotoxic (cell-killing) granules which then destroy the altered cells.
T cells (thymus cells) and B cells (bone cells) are the main cells of the adaptive immune response. They tackle infections, and they cause the immune system to 'remember' the event.
The function of T cells and B cells is to recognize foreign antigens. Antigens are surface molecules on a cell. Once they have identified an invader, the cells respond to remove pathogens or pathogen-infected cells.
B cells respond to pathogens by producing large numbers of antibodies which then destroy foreign objects like bacteria and viruses.
Some T cells, called T helper cells, produce cytokines that direct the immune response. Cytokines signal to other immune cells that there is a foreign antigen present. Other T cells, called cytotoxic T cells, produce toxic granules which cause the death of infected cells.
Once they are made active, B cells and T cells produce "memory cells". Throughout the lifetime of an animal, these cells will 'remember' each specific pathogen encountered, and are able to make a strong response if the pathogen is detected again. Memory cells live a long time in the body, and are how vaccinations work.
Mammalian stem cells change or differentiate into several kinds of blood cell within the bone marrow. This process is called haematopoiesis (= blood growth). All lymphocytes come from a common basic lymphocyte cell before differentiating into their distinct lymphocyte types.
B cells mature into B lymphocytes in the bone marrow, while T cells migrate to and mature in a distinct organ, called the thymus. After they mature, the lymphocytes enter the circulation and lymphoid organs (e.g. the spleen and lymph nodes) where they are able to sense invading pathogens and tumour cells.
In the circulatory system they move from lymph node to lymph node. This contrasts with macrophages, which are rather stationary in the nodes.
When white blood cells are counted, the lymphocyte count is the percentage of lymphocytes present.
An increase in lymphocyte concentration is usually a sign of a viral infection (in some rare case, leukemias are found through an abnormally high lymphocyte count in an otherwise normal person).
A low normal to low absolute lymphocyte count is found with infections after surgery or trauma.