A new study of mice supports the idea that exposure to germs in childhood helps develop the immune system and thereby prevent allergies and other immune-related diseases such as asthma and colitis later on in life. Researchers at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, US, led the study, a report of which is in the 22 March online issue of Science. The "hygiene hypothesis" proposes that early childhood exposure to microbes increases susceptibility to certain diseases by suppressing development of the immune system...
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