Featured Articles
Chronic Hives May Be a Window Into a Larger Inflammatory Disorder
A patient walks into an allergy clinic because of hives. The skin is covered with raised, itching welts that appear, disappear, and migrate unpredictably. Perhaps the eyelids swell or the lips become distorted overnight.…
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When COVID-19 Confuses the Immune System: The Emerging Connection between Infection and Autoimmunity
A viral infection is supposed to follow a familiar script. A virus enters the body, the immune system recognizes the invader, and an elaborate defense…
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When the Body’s Borders Break. Could Damage to Our Body’s Protective Surfaces Be Fueling the Rise of Chronic Disease?
The path from a damaged body barrier to autoimmune disease may be a continuum, and understanding that progression could change when and how medicine i…
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Articles
Rise of Climate-Driven Fungal Diseases
There is an old joke among infectious disease specialists that fungi are "the forgotten kingdom." They lack the explosive headlines of viruses, the noto…
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The Airway's Early Warning System: How the Lining of Your Lungs Decides Whether You Stay Healthy, or Develop Asthma
For decades, asthma was viewed primarily as a disorder of overactive immune cells. Doctors focused on eosinophils, IgE antibodies, mast cells, and the inflammat…
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Chronic Hives Are More Than a Skin Problem: The Immune Signals Behind Itching, Swelling, and Treatment Response
For someone with chronic spontaneous urticaria, or CSU, the day can begin with clear skin and end with raised, intensely itchy welts covering the arms, legs, or…
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The Forgotten Fungi in a Baby’s Gut: Could They Influence Allergy Risk Years Later?
For years, the story of the infant microbiome has been told largely through bacteria. Scientists have linked early bacterial communities to everything from dige…
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The Inflamed Mind: Rethinking the Biology of Depression
For decades, depression was largely explained as a disorder of brain chemicals such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. While those neurotransmitters re…
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How Air Pollution Before and After Birth May Shape a Child’s Risk of Lung Infections
For decades, scientists have known that air pollution harms the lungs. What has become increasingly clear, however, is that the damage may begin long before a c…
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Why Can Lung Mucus Smell Like the Gut? The Surprising Connection Between the Lungs, Mouth, and Digestive Tract
For decades, biology textbooks portrayed the lungs as nearly sterile organs, isolated from the microbial ecosystems of the body. That view has changed dramatica…
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The Secret to a Good Life May Not Be What You Achieve, but How You Feel About It
For decades, adulthood came with a familiar script. Finish school. Find a stable job. Fall in love. Get married. Buy a home. Start a family. These milestones ha…
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Autoimmunity's Hidden Language: Why the Immune System Sometimes Turns Against the Body
New discoveries are revealing that autoimmune diseases may begin long before symptoms appear, through a complex dialogue among genes, proteins, and the immune s…
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Depression’s Hidden Fire
Scientists Are Exploring Whether Inflammation May Be Driving Some Forms of Mental Illness For decades, depression has largely been explained as a disorder of br…
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