Did researchers use a 'clever trick' to cure the common cold?

stock photo of man sneezing.

A new study published in the journal Nature Microbiology finds that researchers in California may have used a unique tactic to discover what might become a cure for the common cold. 

Dr. William Schaffner, infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, describes the research as a "clever trick" in a related news article published in Everyday Health.

“In this study, the investigators have done something very clever,” Schaffner told Everyday Health. Schaffner was not involved in the study but studies infectious diseases and collaborates extensively with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “Pretending the cold virus is a key trying to get into the lock [referring to the host cell], researchers have disabled a protein on the cell so the virus cannot infect those cells.”

The common cold affects millions of people annually, and the study could prove to be a huge deterrent.

Read the full Everyday Health article here: https://www.everydayhealth.com/common-cold/study-points-potential-cure-common-cold/

Read the study in Nature Microbiology here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-019-0551-1.epdf?referrer_access_token=0-vSRYpXLgDUnDfefmg0u9RgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0MVM4NGloBp90PcJy-SVt6nNSFI-qRXbW5rF1pogqIekgVOaHryp5JYNmFVx63iHnLW48lKeouCEu3ivr_Z-JGY2m7nJ_lEgDdDbTD5ve8WlEuC2mn_V-2E5L4JTtNJ-EKMMrRoauwBbQmkv91W3W6Rj4xOiq3ZoEV3kP6CMTA9XsQzsRC1kPD3RdAXS6CTM7zwqrAOVz9s8R5_TOSTQqtD_QlIe1bGn0WRGIvY4sjTOktr5ejAqAbf0CT4ANMajBHKpmhXP7V-_me8DfHr0xxe&tracking_referrer=www.scientificamerican.com