Image caption2: This is in no way related to the episode, but it's the figure Kate made for a recent review. It's so good, you almost can't tell it was done in PowerPoint
Welcome to spring from everyone at Audiommunity! To celebrate the return of the warm(ish) weather, we discuss a paper looking at immune responses to bee venom, and the underlying causes of environmental allergy. In doing so, we focus in on the mast cell – the immune mediators of allergy and anaphylaxis – and why they may actually be helpful in helping you (or your more worm-exposed ancestors) fight off intestinal parasites. Ever wonder where histamines come from? Why your skin turns red when you scratch it? Why you should never take bee pollen as a supplement? What eosinophils and basophils are? Well we can't answer that last one, but for the rest, give a listen!