A protein that blocks allergies

Fifty million people in the United States suffer from allergies. But relief could be forthcoming. The April 2005 issue of Nature Medicine reports that researchers engineered a protein that inhibits allergic inflammation in mice—and could someday be used to block people's immune responses to allergies.

The next step: Researchers successfully tailored the protein to block responses to cat allergens, in particular, and will tackle other specific allergens in turn. Now, that's nothing to sneeze at!