Scientists uncover the cells that save you when water goes down the wrong pipe

Woman can be seen sat on a wooden floor coughing into her elbow while she holds a cup of tea in a blue mug in the other hand. The background is blurred, however, she is sat next to a wooden coffee table and a grey couch with blue cushions. There is also a bookshelf behind her and a wooden stool against a kitchen counter to the right.

You take a sip of water but suddenly burst into uncontrollable coughing — your drink has "gone down the wrong pipe." It turns out that this familiar, protective response is instigated by rare, tiny cells in your airways, scientists discovered in a new study in mice. 

This finding could help pave the way to new methods for treating respiratory disorders, Ziai Zhu and Xin Sun of the University of California, San Diego, wrote in a commentary of the study. The researchers behind the work suggest it could be useful for treating chronic coughs, for instance, or preventing pneumonia.