although asthma with over 235 million people worldwide is one of the most common respiratory diseases, little is known about the causes and mechanisms of development of the disease and the diagnosis is difficult. Especially in children, early detection of the disease can decide about life and death in case of doubt. The consortium of this joint project is pursuing an innovative approach that assesses a patient’s risk of developing asthma through the analysis of blood cells. The goal is a diagnostic procedure that can be used quickly and easily to both diagnose the disease and monitor therapy.