A study has estimated the economic cost of food allergies at $24.8 billion/year in the US

A study has estimated the economic cost of food allergies at $24.8 billion/year in the US, about 17% of it being borne by the health care industry and the rest by families. The cost to families includes both out-of-pocket costs (medication, doctor’s visits, specialized food, etc.) and opportunity costs in lost work productivity and, in some cases, lost job opportunities where a parent has to alter or give up a job to provide extra care.

Short article: Food Allergy’s Economic Burden on Families: $3,500 a Year (Allergic Living)

Longer article for those less familiar with what it takes to manage a severe allergy: What Food Allergies Are Costing Families and the Economy (Time)

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I remember learning about the OSI seven-layer network model in college…

OSI: The Internet That Wasn’t

How TCP/IP eclipsed the Open Systems Interconnection standards to become the global protocol for computer networking

I remember learning about the OSI seven-layer network model in college, but OSI it was already more or less irrelevant as anything but a way of conceptualizing networking. The main thing that sticks in my head is an analogy to the Taco Bell seven-layer burrito, with each ingredient mapping to one of the layers.

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This story really hits home for me because the beginning so closely tracks my own experience exactly a week earlier…

Despite shots, peanut allergy kills teen

This story really hits home for me because the beginning so closely tracks my own experience exactly a week earlier during Comic-Con: Friday, on vacation, could tell there was something wrong immediately, reaction seemed to be under control but reemerged later…Except with me, the EpiPen worked, and I walked out of the hospital that evening.

No guarantees.

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Interesting research on one possible cause of food allergies.

Faulty genetic pathway is a potent player in many types of allergies, say researchers

A report on the study’s findings, published July 24, 2013 in Science Translational Medicine, shows that aberrant signaling by a protein called transforming growth factor-beta, or TGF-beta, may be responsible for disrupting the way immune cells respond to common foods and environmental allergens, leading to a wide range of allergic disorders.

Interesting research on one possible cause of food allergies.

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