It's time to learn your airborne allergens! Home-based environmental interventions can improve the health of inner-city children who suffer moderate or severe asthma, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health. Findings of research on a study group of children 5 to 11 years old-sponsored by NIAID and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and published in the November issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology-show that home-based environmental intervention decreases allergen levels in the home and reduce the severity of asthma symptoms. As for the cost of such a program, the data show that, first, the price tag would be substantially lower if these interventions were implemented in a community setting and, second, they are as cost-effective as many drug interventions.