In 2005 Sarkis Mazmanian and colleagues showed that a single polysaccharide from an intestinal commensal, Bacteroides fragilis, could largely correct the subnormal and functionally distorted development of the immune system that occurs in germ-free mice (Mazmanian et...
Do worms protect us against autoimmune diseases? The epidemiological evidence is strongly suggestive. Ethiopian, Brazilian, Venezuelan, and Gambian adults have less asthma when infected with nematodes; Gabonese schoolchildren with schistosomiasis have fewer allergic...