Maybe It's the Worm, Not the Apple, That Keeps the Doctor Away
At least that may be the case for parasitic worms, also known as helminths. In the review article "Parasitic Helminths: New Weapons against Immunological Disorders" its authors discuss the recent literature supporting the hygiene hypothesis - the idea that the modern hygienic lifestyles of children deprive them of the immune system priming necessary to provide protection later on against diseases like diabetes, allergies, arthritis, Crohn's disease and cancers like Hodgkin's. Later in the article they turn to the evidence showing that one especially unhygienic aspect of an infestation, the helminths laying eggs in your body, is especially good for you.
So what does this have to do with mass torts? Well, a number of ailments attributed to chemicals, diet or drugs may in fact have their roots in our having rather suddenly and dramatically distanced ourselves from the microbiological environment that shaped us over the eons. Thanks to the elucidation of the molecular pathways responsible it may now be possible to identify those plaintiffs whose unmatured immune systems are the real culprits.
