Leeds boffins make cold breakthrough

SCIENTISTS in Leeds believe they have come a step closer to unlocking the 'enigma code' that causes the common cold.
Scientists believe they are closer to unlocking the common cold virus.Scientists believe they are closer to unlocking the common cold virus.
Scientists believe they are closer to unlocking the common cold virus.

Researchers yesterday published the workings of a ‘hidden code’ within the gene family that includes the cold, polio, and hand foot and mouth disease.

The genetic code, said to “work like the cog wheels in a Swiss watch”, could be the key to finally creating a cure for a disease that continues to bring misery to millions.

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The Leeds University scientists believe their findings could lead to the development of new drug treatments within a decade that would be the medical equivalent of “pouring sand into a watch”.

Their work, in partnership with universities in York and Helsinki, builds on their discovery of two years ago which identified a set of encrypted signals in a plant virus similar to the structure of Human Parechovirus, which infects humans and can cause sepsis-like illness and meningitis in children.

They found that the details of the decoding mechanism appear identical in all strains of the virus, potentially allowing a single drug to treat them all - something not possible with a vaccine.

Professor Peter Stockley, from Leeds University, said: “The coding works like the cog wheels in a Swiss watch. We now need a drug that has the same effect as pouring sand into the watch; every part of the viral mechanism could be disabled.”

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He added: “We need to move away from a vaccine approach, which is what we have for flu and polio.”

Professor Reidun Twarock at York University said: “The common cold infects more than two billion people annually, making it one of the most successful viral pathogens, so we are excited to make this crucial step forward.”

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