Is this the end of the common cold? Scientists crack virus code

The common cold could become a thing of the past after scientists discovered a way to stop the virus "in its tracks".

Researchers at the Universities of Leeds and York have identified a previously unknown code contained within the strands of genetic material in rhinoviruses, the most frequent cause of the common cold.

Using a computer-based model, the researchers worked out not only how to read the messages hidden within the sequence of a virus's ribonucleic acid (RNA), but also how to "jam" the messages and stop the virus from deploying.

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Dr Roman Tuma, from the University of Leeds, told the Daily Telegraph: "We have understood for decades that the RNA carries the genetic messages that create viral proteins, but we didn't know that, hidden within the stream of letters we use to denote the genetic information, is a second code governing virus assembly.

"It is like finding a secret message within an ordinary news report and then being able to crack the whole coding system behind it."

The discovery – published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition – is still at a theoretical stage, with trials on animal viruses required before scientists are able to develop a drug for humans.

Professor Peter Stockley, who led the study, likened the discovery to finding the Enigma machine used to encode Nazi messages during the Second World War.

"We have shown that not only can we read these messages but we can jam them and stop the virus's deployment," he said.

It follows research from Yale University, published last month, which found that when the core temperature inside the nose falls by five degrees, the immune system is unable to fight the cold virus as well as normal.

The Telegraph says that one in five people carry the rhinovirus in their nasal passage at any one time.