Gut microbiome rewrites may help reduce allergies

The gut microbiome's role in chronic diseases

Research shows that the microbial makeup of one's gut microbiome is associated with chronic diseases ranging from asthma to schizophrenia. Understanding these associations may reveal new ways to prevent or treat chronic diseases. In the meantime, nutritional changes—such as including more dietary fiber and unsaturated fat—appear to be the "most obvious, noninvasive, and immediate" way to alter the gut's microbiota makeup and functions.

Researchers are investigating if nanoparticle treatments could combat allergies

In rodent work, Northwestern University’s Evan Scott (now at the University of Virginia) and his colleagues have been trying to attack allergies with specially designed nanoparticles—miniscule lab-made objects that can penetrate cells. They stud the nanoparticles with a tiny bit of the allergen specific to the allergy (i.e. cashew protein for cashew allergy) and antibodies that shut down allergic response processes.

Can the gut microbiome drive addiction?

New research suggests an imbalance of gut microorganisms may influence the likelihood of addiction and addictive behaviors by increasing the severity of withdrawal symptoms, triggering brain inflammation in regions of impulse control, and more.

Embracing poor hygiene in early life won't stave off allergies

The hygiene hypothesis, first proposed in 1989 by British immunologist David Strachan, suggests that early life exposure to microbes—like those from farm dust or pets—properly trains our immune systems to respond to threats. But sometimes the idea is misinterpreted: It doesn’t mean that poor hygiene—like failing to wash hands–will help ward off allergies; that type of behavior leads to infections and won’t help with allergy prevention.

Modern conveniences may be contributing to allergy increases

A combination of genetics and how the environment changes our genes are likely contributing to the rise in allergies. But daily conveniences, such as dishwashers and packaged baby food, also change the level of bacterial exposures in early life, with potential implications for allergy development, experts from Mount Sinai Health System state in this video discussion.

CRISPR technology is removing allergens from common foods

Proteins responsible for allergies to eggs, milk, wheat, peanuts, and other foods can be genetically edited out of foods to reduce the risk of life-threatening reactions. The technique has also been used to produce caffeine-free coffee beans, spicier tomatoes, allergen-free pets, and more nutritious fish.

Some animals have little or no bacterial populations in their gut

Gut microbiomes are essential to human health, but many animals have a much smaller, transient, or even nonexistent microbiome. The discoveries have advanced our understanding of the evolution of the human microbiome.

Inhalers, antihistamines, immunotherapy, and more have made allergies a multimillion-dollar market

Market research suggests that the allergies market will continue to grow in the years ahead as the number of allergy diagnoses increases, identifying new patients. Areas of growth include the increasing interest in immunotherapies designed to retrain the immune system through regular exposure to potential allergens via injections and under-the-tongue medical formulations, among other approaches.

Adults are developing food allergies that they didn’t have as children

Research published in 2019 found that almost half of 40,000 surveyed adults with food allergies developed a new food allergy as adults, underscoring that our immune systems may newly misclassify substances later in life.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain health conditions

Early clinical trial research suggests that the parasites trigger the production of specific proteins that quiet our immune systems. This keeps the parasites from being killed, but it also quiets the inflammatory response that underpins allergies, type 2 diabetes, celiac disease, and other autoimmune conditions. Researchers still caution that infection with too many hookworms can cause serious medical complications and that this is not a standardized or approved medical treatment.

Neural replays in mice help explain food aversions

Princeton University scientists published research in 2025 analyzing how mice learn to associate certain foods or flavors with feeling ill—even when there’s a time gap between eating something and feeling sick. The work, performed with grape Kool-Aid and injections of a substance that made mice sick, traced the literal “gut reaction” of how gut distress signals are linked to neural replays of what the mouse ate.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

Peanut allergies dropped by 43% after doctors reversed avoidance guidance, but questions remain

The study’s data appear to confirm the policy shift. Still, since the study did not include an examination of infant diet, researchers can’t definitively say that the guideline shift led to dietary changes and thus directly caused the decline.

Amish kids have far fewer allergies than the general population

Only about 7% of Amish children in a northern Indiana community have tested positive for common allergens in routine skin prick tests, whereas half of the general US population tests positive for them. Asthma is also extremely uncommon among the Amish, even when compared with other farming communities. Researchers are interested in exploring if approaches like exposing kids across the general population to Amish farm dust might stave off some allergies.

What's next for gut microbiome science?

A Stanford microbiologist explores what we don't yet know about the gut microbiome—such as whether we can engineer the bacterial species within it—and the current scientific advances in the field.

The word allergy is partly derived from the Greek word 'allos' for 'other'

For people with allergies, their immune systems recognize substances as a harmful "other"—cuing an inflammatory response. This podcast explores allergy details and related topics, including how scientists are interested in if the same allergic response mechanisms could underpin other health issues, including severe, painful symptoms around the time of menstrual cycles. Since estrogen acts on white blood cells called mast cells, which leads to the release of histamines—similar to what happens during allergic responses—an understudied question is whether the same process is fueling some of the uncomfortable symptoms around menstruation. An allergist guest notes this raises questions about if antihistamine medications like Pepsid might alleviate them, something that hasn't yet been explored in clinical trials.

Genetic engineering mice is one idea to reduce Lyme disease transmission

Wild white-footed mice are the main carriers of Lyme. A research team is hoping to genetically engineer mice, using CRISPR, to make the animals immune to Lyme. They're proposing a field trial where they would insert a gene with an antibody to Lyme infection to break the disease transmission cycle on a private island and then try it in Nantucket if that goes well. Simply killing the mice isn't an option because it would upend food webs. Unlike traditional vaccines, this "heritable immunization" would pass from one generation of mice to the next.

Western babies often are missing a key gut microbe common elsewhere

Studies show infants in Europe and North America often lack Bifidobacterium infantis, a microbe widespread in babies in Africa and South Asia that helps digest breast milk and train the immune system. Researchers link the gap to antibiotics, formula use, and sanitized spaces.

There's no specific anti-inflammatory diet, but certain foods increase the chance of inflammation

Research suggests humans can reduce inflammation by limiting foods that are already known to be unhealthy for the human body—because they alter gut bacteria and stress the immune system—such as highly-processed foods, deep fried foods, sugary drinks, trans fats, red meats, and foods made with white flour. Foods that help the body include fatty fish such as salmon, legumes, fruits, and vegetables.

Supplements ahead of exertional heatstroke helped protect mice against brain damage

In the lab, mice dosed with probiotics prior to inducing exertional heatstroke, had better cognitive outcomes. This evidence underscores the links between the gut microbiome and the brain, at least in rodents.

Probiotics, which are living bacteria and yeasts, are not recommended for most patients

The American Gastroenterological Association in 2020 concluded that although almost 4 million American adults have taken some form of probiotics, health claims about them are not backed in strong evidence. They only recommend their use for a few specific situations: to prevent Clostridioides difficile infection in people taking antibiotics that kill gut bacteria, to prevent necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants, and for the management of a complication of inflammatory bowel disease called pouchitis.

Move over gene editing, scientists can edit your epigenome

Instead of deleting genes, epigenetic editing modulates their activity. A new paper tests if it’s able to undo a genetic effect of early alcohol exposure.

Can microdosing improve mental health?

Animal studies involving microdoses of psilocybin, the psychoactive component in magic mushrooms and ketamine, found it helped to alleviate anxiety and inflammation, an immune response that can cause damage when chronically active. Human studies are ongoing. In at least one double-blind study, where researchers and patients don't know who got a placebo versus the real thing, about half of the participants incorrectly guessed they had been given placebos.

GLP-1s are netting interest for treating autoimmune diseases, but are considered experimental

Already used to treat type 2 diabetes, the novel medications are showing some early promise in experimental studies at reducing inflammation and treating autoimmune conditions including rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel conditions. But researchers caution that side effects are still under investigation—rarely the medication has caused lupus, an autoimmune disease.

Tips for reducing the risk of antimicrobial resistance

Antimicrobial resistance is bad news. But there are lots of things you can do to both protect yourself from superbugs and help keep the problem of antimicrobial resistance from getting worse. This page from the CDC offers clear, straightforward guidelines that can help keep you—and your loved ones—healthy.

Research has shown that bioengineered algae can help remove microplastics

Scientists at the University of Missouri found that, like microplastics, some algae are particularly hydrophobic—they repel water—and that both can clump together to form a microplastic-algae sludge, which can then be collected to remove microplastics from water. Researchers believe this algae provides a scalable solution for microplastic removal that can be employed in wastewater treatment processes.

In recent years a child anxiety expert has created and tested a novel phobia and anxiety treatment approach for children, focused on changing how parents respond to the fears.

Astronauts have repaired genetic damage in space using CRISPR—a molecular tool that can make precise changes to DNA and is used in single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses.

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

Poison ivy is in the same family as mangoes, cashews, and pistachios—and they all produce oily urushiol in their raw, unprocessed state—but they are typically prepared in ways to avoid causing human discomfort.

Experimental hantavirus vaccines and therapies, still under development, have long been funded by the US military.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

Learn how monoclonal antibodies, which mimic the body's antibodies, can fight diseases like Ebola.

Fish populations in the Great Barrier Reef have increased after installing waterproof speakers on the ocean floor that played recordings of sounds from healthy coral reefs.

Telehealth demand for GLP-1s for weight loss is booming as consumers seek easier access.

Larger animals like giraffes, elephants, and blue whales have developed a unique defense against cancer, a phenomenon known as Peto's Paradox

Recent research found that the brain doesn't seem to massively rewire following amputation—upending earlier beliefs about the cause of phantom limb pain.

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

When you complete a CAPTCHA on a website to prove you are human, you may be unknowingly training algorithms for self-driving cars, whose systems require training data to help identify crosswalks, bicycles, and other outdoor objects.

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

While atoms are normally made of protons, neutrons, and electrons, exotic ones have been built with antimatter—alternate versions of normal matter that live for fractions of a second and are about a billion times as rare.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

Calculate how much of your tax dollars go to each federal program based on your income, filing status, and number of children

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, but became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.