Children Prone to Food Allergies
Angela Nguyen
Article summary- La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, ScienceDaily, January 28, 2016
The immune system functions as protection against “foregin” microbes. Our immune system considers food as foreign, which may result in food allergies. In his research, Charles Surh, Ph.D. describes how food tolerance develops within individuals through re-establishing the "antigen-free" mouse models. “Antigen- free” mice that were raised in a germ-free environment and fed an "elemental" diet of amino acids were depleted of T-regulatory cells, while mice that were fed a “normal” protein diet had a large number of T-regulatory cells. The presence of these cells helps suppress the immune responses and prevent allergic symptoms. He continued with his research by feeding a test protein these mice have never encountered, which led to a massive immune reaction that resembled the responses towards harmful pathogens. This study reveals how children, who have more limited exposure to food than adults, are more susceptible to food allergies.
Article critique
ScienceDaily is an online magazine that provides recent discoveries and news on various science topics ranging from astronomy to medicine to archeology. ScienceDaily is compiled with articles that are submitted by institutions and universities. La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, a non-profit biomedical research institute that focuses on the prevention, treatment, and cure of immune diseases, was the source of this article. This institute is composed of researchers and scientists who dedicate their time to increase knowledge and improve human health through the studies of the immune system. Many of the researchers have a higher level of education, such as an M.D. degree or a PhD, which adds to the credibility of this article. The article appears to be valid and well researched supported with evidence, and the author’s point of view is impartial and free of strong emotional words. The most credible and most preferred source to use would be the journal entry written by By Kwang Soon Kim, Sung-Wook Hong, Daehee Han, Jaeu Yi, Jisun Jung, Bo-Gie Yang, Jun Young Lee, Minji Lee, Charles D. Surh, the researchers of this experiment. The journal entry is the primary source with raw material from the research process. This article remains credible based off its sources and references. This article is current and up to date with the source. It was published in Jan 2016, and relevant to the topic researched today. Because it is recent and not out to date, it adds more credibility to the article and the website.