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The horrible looking creature above is a dust mite and it is known to trigger asthma attacks. Dean Smith, Executive Director of the American Asthma Foundation, says "although dust mites are known to trigger asthma attacks, until now we did not know why the allergic response to the mites was so strong." The mystery was solved as a result of research funded by the American Asthma Foundation's Strategic Program for Asthma Research (SPAR). The lead investigator, Dr. Christopher Karp, and his colleagues found that house dust mites trick the immune system into believing that it is facing a bacterial infection. Thus misinformed, the immune system mounts a strong allergic response to the mites, a response that can trigger asthma attacks.

They have the cause so maybe now they can come up with a cure. Maybe they can create a drug that can keep this allergic response to dust mites from happening in the first place.

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Although we've all heard people joke about having a "senior moment" when they can't remember something simple, the truth is that getting older is in no way synonymous with losing our memories.

Although the words beta-carotene may sound more like something you would find on a computer instead of in your body, you will want to make sure it is a good portion of your diet. Since beta-carotene is a source of vitamin A, you may think you are eating enough through a healthy intake of meat and eggs, but food sources rich in beta-carotene transform into not one, but two vitamin A molecules in your system essentially doubling their power.

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People without health insurance will have another avenue for medical care beginning Aug. 1 when student volunteers at the Indiana University School of Medicine open the IU Student Outreach Clinic in a near eastside Indianapolis neighborhood.
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China Daily explores how a new anti-smoking initiative in China targets the country's medical professionals. According to the newspaper, "China is the world's largest tobacco producer and consumer," with "350 million smokers, plus 450 million people exposed to second-hand smoke." Annually, 1 million deaths are smoking-related, according to China's Ministry of Health.
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AP - Americans spend more than a 10th of their out-of-pocket health care dollars on alternative medicine, according to the first national estimate of such spending in more than a decade.

LiveScience.com - Last month, researchers found that schizophrenics were more likely to have been subjected to influenza in the womb than healthy individuals. Other common experiences can also drive away our wits, long after we are out of diapers.
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