This release contains only the music track from Base by Base Episode 387.

Song title: When the Shield Gets Thin
Original Base by Base episode: 387: Homotypic Dengue Reinfections and Long-Term Antibody Decay

Article metadata:
Article title: Long-term antibody dynamics challenge the paradigm of lifelong homotypic immunity to dengue virus
Journal: PNAS
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2606206123
Reference: Andrade J, Mitard de Girardie A, Huang AT, et al. Long-term antibody dynamics challenge the paradigm of lifelong homotypic immunity to dengue virus. PNAS. 2026;123(22):e2606206123. doi:10.1073/pnas.2606206123

Lyrics:
Verse 1
We thought the lightning only struck one time
Same face, same fever, same border line
But numbers in the blood don’t hold that bright
They rise like a flare, then slip from sight

Pre-Chorus
A fast fall in the first few moons
Then a long, slow fade through quiet afternoons
Years pass by in a steady slide
And the old “always” doesn’t always survive

Chorus
So we count the echoes in the vein
Protection isn’t permanent, it wanes
Most of it moves in silence, unseen
A shield gets thin, but life goes on between
And when the bite comes back around
We learn what immunity leaves on the ground

Verse 2
In crowded days where mosquitoes hum
Nearly every hit feels like nothing comes
But hidden sparks can still redraw the chart
Age writes patterns on the antibody arc
And after more than one hard-earned scar
The drop slows down—still drifting far

Bridge
Not every vaccine can promise “never again”
If the curve keeps bending, if the memory thins
So plan for the long night, not just the start
Watch the slow decline like a beating heart
Boost the light when the signal turns dim
Build the model where reality lives within

Final Chorus
Yeah, we count the echoes in the vein
Protection isn’t permanent, it wanes
Most of it moves in silence, unseen
A shield gets thin, but life goes on between
And when the same storm wears a different crown
We don’t look away—we track it down