Dogs

Dogs aren't just man's best friend. Previous studies have shown that kids with dogs are less likely to develop asthma. Now a new study may show how—if results from mice apply to us. The work was presented at a meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. The study tests what’s called the 1 hypothesis. The idea is that extreme cleanliness may actually promote disease later on. Researchers collected dust from homes that had a dog. They fed that house dust to mice. They then infected the mice with a 2 childhood infection called 3 syncytial virus—or RSV.