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| Professor Ben Marsland |
In 2010 scientists reported for the first time that microbiota – the community of microorganisms that includes bacteria – existed in the airways of humans; they were met with disbelief: the healthy lung was thought to be sterile.
Around the same time, Professor Ben Marsland and colleagues conducted a study demonstrating that administration of innocuous bacteria to the lungs of mice protected them against asthma. A further study together with Professor Nicola Harris showed that ‘germ-free’ mice, which are bred under sterile conditions and have no microbiota, exhibited increased susceptibility to asthma.
