In the past few years, increasing attention has been given to what has been labelled an “allergy epidemic” by some, whereby more and more children in industrialised nations are suffering from allergies. A recent study conducted in Finland has now suggested that this phenomenon is not due to an increase in actual allergenic risk factory, but rather because of the “human immune system has not had the time to adapt to the rapid changes in the urban environment and way of life”.

A short article on this can be found at AlphaGalileo.org.

EurekAlert! reports that researchers in England are developing drugs that would stop allergens from entering the body. This would consequently help people to get rid of their allergies. Clinical trials could be started as early as 2010.

If you are allergic to cats but would still like to have someone to watch soccer with, help is at hand. An American company has announced that it has been able to breed cats that do not cause allergic reactions due to their lack of the Fel d 1 protein. A related National Geographic article can be found here.

The interesting thing is that they have allegedly succeeded in theif feat through “natural” cross-breeding, and no “unnatural” gene alterations have been made (the inverted commas are there for a reason). To me, it sounds a bit like Pixar’s recent announcement that they want to revitalise Disney’s hand drawn animation. Which I am all for, of course.