November 3, 2025

Good Monday morning Staker! Here’s what’s cookin’ today. Scientists discover why our immunity wanes with age, Goonies collectible heading this way, and Dave Mustaine doubles down  🤘

Let’s get into it!

It’s commonly understood that the human immune system weakens as we age, but scientists haven’t really been able to pinpoint what is actually happening in the human body to cause immunity to wane over time.

A new study published in Nature examined this exact phenomenon, gaining an understanding of memory T cell and B cell function—the cells that drive immune response to a familiar threat introduced either by a prior infection or through minor exposure to a pathogen in a vaccine.

Memory T cells store information about a pathogen so they know what to attack in the future, whereas B cells will produce antibodies specifically to mount an attack against such pathogens.

The researchers, led by Allen Institute immunologist Claire Gustafson, found memory T cells in adults between 55 and 65 years old start to act based on a specific functional subset responsible for “innate immunity” rather than “adaptive immunity;” in other words, they become less able to adapt to new or even once-familiar threats, causing a weakening of the immune response.

On top of that, this functional shift also lowers the threat response of B cells, causing the production of fewer antibodies and also resulting in a weaker attack against a pathogenic threat.

LEGO announced a 3,912-piece collectible diorama model of the infamous Goonies inferno ship, based on an idea submitted by a fan.

The Lego Ideas division collects fan-submitted set ideas, and every now and then, one will get the green light and an official release by the company. In the case of The Inferno, the model was cooked up by Greece-based 3D artist and fan designer, Vaggelis Ntezes—known as Delusion Brick on Lego Ideas forums.

“In designing this set, I revisited my childhood memories – growing up in the ’80s, playing with LEGO Pirates sets and watching The Goonies,” said Ntezes in Lego’s announcement. “Combining nostalgia, fantasy, and creativity, I wanted to build something that offered both playability and display value.”

LEGO’s early access program gave members the ability to make purchases of the set as early as Saturday, but the general public will be able to follow One-Eyed Willy’s map and stake their claim to the treasure for US$309.99

Megadeth will embark on their farewell tour starting next year, both in celebration of their four-decade career and in support of their self-titled and last album releasing on Jan. 23.

The album will feature a song very familiar to fans of thrash metal, the genre Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine is partly responsible for cultivating in the early ‘80s during his time with Metallica.

Prior to being fired from the band in 1983, Mustaine wrote or co-wrote several classic Metallica songs, perhaps most notably, The Four Horsemen—a song that was also recorded and released under the name Mechanix on Megadeth’s debut album with alternate lyrics.

The final track of Megadeth’s final album will be a cover of Ride the Lightning, the title track of Metallica’s second album and a song Mustaine co-wrote prior to his Metallica exit.

“It wasn’t really that I wanted to do my version,” the singer/guitarist told Rolling Stone. “I think that we all wanted it to turn out a certain way, and for me, this was about something so much more than how a song turns out. It was about respect.”

Twofer

Welcome to November, Staker! Today we’ve got double the fun!

In today’s trivia we’ve got 10 awesome questions about music duos, duets, and couplings. Complete the game and earn a shot at a $25 eGift Card ;)

Winner will be notified on Tuesday afternoon. Keep an eye on your inbox and don’t forget to check your spam folder!*