To combat the rampant manufacture of meth, Iowa passed a bill in 2005 making it one of the first states to place pseudoephedrine behind the counter at pharmacies and placing limits on how much of the drug individuals could purchase. And, in 2010, Iowa joined the national database to track the purchase of…
Does wealth create peanut allergies?
Much ink has been spilled over the rise of allergies over the last few decades, and one of the most popular theories is that it's due to children not being exposed to enough germs. A new piece of research seems to support that theory, tying the incidence of the dreaded peanut allergy to people's socioeconomic status.
Will 2040 be the year of the allergy apocalypse?
Climate change could mean that your allergies are about to go into overdrive. A new study suggests that by 2040, pollen counts will have doubled — that's a hell of a lot of sneezing and scratchy eyes headed our way.
Are allergies our best defense against biohazards?
As common as they are, the origins of allergies are poorly understood. The prevailing theory is that they evolved as a method of defense against macroparasites — like ticks and worms — that are now triggered by a much wider variety of causes. However, a group of researchers from Yale think we're looking at it wrong,…
Are allergies for real?
Allergies were pretty much completely unknown until the beginning of the twentieth century, and allergic diseases have skyrocketed in the last twenty years, and well over half of all Americans are allergic to an airborne substance. What's going on here?
Your allergies could help you fight off cancer
If you have a contact allergy, merely touching the wrong metal or chemical is enough to send your immune system into overdrive, triggering hives, swelling and general unpleasantness. However, it seems that this sensitivity may have a positive side effect: your hair-trigger immune system could be better at fighting off…
Could kissing ease your allergies?
Not many scientific studies can help you hook up. But here's one that comes with its own pick-up line: "Let's make out - it'll help your allergies!"
Having intestinal worms could prevent allergic reactions
Intestinal worms have figured out a way to keep themselves protected from your body's immune system, by taking control of part of it. The job of flushing out these worms would normally go to your T cells, which attack invaders. But the worm Heligmosomoides polygyrus makes a protein which restrains the production of T…
