Human diseases

The Nastiest of the Cold Viruses Reveals Its True Form The article “The Nastiest of the Cold Viruses Reveals Its True Form” is about a new major virus which is the main cause of the nasty common cold. Scientists discovered that there are actually three viruses that cause the common cold, not just two like they had thought before. The detection of this sickening virus may enable new treatments for the common cold sometime in the near future. Ann Palmenburg discovered that Rhinovirus C is the nastiest of the rhinoviruses to generate the common cold. By creating a model of the new virus, Palmenburg and her colleagues were able to analyze it. After their analyzation, they were able to figure out that the Rhinovirus C is much different and more severe than Rhinovirus A or rhinovirus B. The model reveals that the protein shell/capsid which surrounds the virus and allows it to attach to a host cell. Studying the capsid provides researchers with information that will help them create medicine to kill the rhinovirus. Scientists, confused as to why treatments for Rhinovirus A and B thrived in the lab but failed trials in the clinic, later discovered that Rhinovirus C, the new type of virus, was responsible for this. This is because patients who had Rhinovirus A or B may also have had Rhinovirus C, so after being treated only for the Rhinovirus that a treatment was known for, the still remained sick. This vital information can be used in very important ways. The discovery of Rhinovirus C can allow for new cures for the common cold. This will in turn prevent more people from getting sick. There will then be a smaller number of deaths in the world due to an antivirus for the new Rhinovirus C. I thought that this article was very interesting. It caught my attention because I always like learning new things about diseases. It is also very helpful to the human diseases industry, and it is always good to reduce the amount of diseases in the world.

Works Cited

Cited: Fulton, Robert. "The Nastiest of the Cold Viruses Reveals Its True Form." Scientific American Global RSS. Scientific American, 21 Jan. 2014. Web. 23 Jan. 2014. .