Interleukin-12. Have you ever heard of it? Me neither, but it appears I should have been checking in the lost and found for my dose of this little molecule. I'm allergic to tree nuts and, if I accidentally encounter them, well... let's just say it isn't pretty. For people like me, certain foods trigger an immune response where the body treats the food as if it were a harmful substance. Nausea, hives, and swelling are among the potential symptoms.

Researchers have found mice that were bred to have peanut allergies were missing a certain molecule, Interleukin-12. This finding offers scientists a target for curing food allergies -- hope for those of us with food sensitivities or allergies. Currently, there's no treatment for food allergies -- you just manage the problem by avoiding the foods you're allergic to. This can be difficult in cases like peanut allergies (one in 70 kids is allergic to peanuts) where the ingredient can be found in surprising foods and the allergy can even be airborne.