What you smell as you sleep has the power to influence your dreams, says new research presented at the 2008 American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO in Chicago, IL.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine have identified a gene in Labrador retriever dogs highly associated with the syndrome of exercise-induced collapse (EIC). After intense hunting or retrieving exercise, activities these dogs are trained to perform, affected Labradors start to lose control of their hind limbs. In most cases, their legs get wobbly and the limbs give out, and in rare cases the dogs may die. Labradors are the most common dog breed in the world and an estimated 3-5 percent of Labradors have this condition. The research is published in the journal Nature Genetics.

In a dramatic illustration of the potential for microbes to prevent disease, researchers at Yale University and the University of Chicago showed that mice exposed to common stomach bacteria were protected against the development of Type I diabetes.