News: No Mars collision expected

The latest analysis of the asteroid predicted to strike Mars reduces the likelihood to less than 1 in 10,000. For the non-stats people, that means the asteroid is not expected to strike Mars. So much for a good show.

Tech: Our galaxy about to collide with space cloud

Astronomers report that our galaxy is about to collide with a massive space cloud, likely to result in the rapid formation of many new stars. But don't hold your breath for the light show... the collision isn't expected for another 20 to 40 million years. The cloud is currently 8,000 light-years from our galaxy, close enough to practically be already in contact with it, and is 11,000 light years long and 2,500 light years wide but completely devoid of stars. The cloud can only be "seen" using a radio telescope.

Tech: Antihistamines may worsen allergic reactions

As a person who has watched his allergies become gradually worse over the years, this particular piece of research interests me. Researchers examined the effect of antihistamines on the strength of allergic reactions by injecting mice with bee venom, then giving half of them an antihistamine. Bee venom is one of the few substances that universally generates an allergic reaction after the first exposure. They discovered that the allergic reaction to a second application of bee venom six weeks later was much worse in the mice in the mice given antihistamines than in the group that was not given anything. They believe that the antihistamine, which functions by interfering with immune system, prevented the mice from building up a tolerance to the substance. The researchers went on to examine the effects of immunotherapy in which small amounts of the substance that causes the allergy  are  used to build a tolerance. They discovered that the group given antihistamines responded poorly to immunotherapy.