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Scientists close to cure for the common cold
PRINT ALL READINGS (PDF)Cold Cure - Level 0
There may soon be a drug for the common cold. Scientists have looked for one for many years. The problem is there are hundreds of cold viruses. They change very quickly. They fight against new drugs. This means we all get colds. Scientists have made something that blocks cold viruses.
Most of us catch a cold every year. We take medicine for sore throats, fevers or a runny nose. Different viruses cause different things. The researchers' discovery could stop these things. It could also help people with bigger problems. The discovery could help people who have breathing problems.
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11 online activities | 8-page printable (PDF)
Cold Cure - Level 1
Scientists may be close to a cure for the common cold. They have looked for a medicine for many years. The problem is that there are hundreds of types of cold viruses. The viruses change very quickly. They fight against new drugs. This means we all have to suffer every year. Scientists have made a discovery that could end colds. Their discovery blocked the viruses that cause colds. It stopped the viruses from working in the body.
Most of us catch a cold a few times a year. We usually take different medicine for things like a sore throat, a runny nose or a fever. Different viruses cause different things. The researchers' discovery could stop these things. It could help to end our suffering. It could also help people with more serious problems. A cold can cause serious problems in people with breathing difficulties. The discovery could help people who have asthma.
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11 online activities | 8-page printable (PDF)
Cold Cure - Level 2
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British researchers may be close to a cure for the common cold. Scientists have worked for decades on a medicine to end colds. The biggest problem was finding a drug that could fight hundreds of types of cold viruses. The viruses change very quickly and can fight against new drugs. Until now, there has been no cure for colds, so we all have to suffer every year. Scientists have developed a molecule that could make colds a thing of the past. They found that the molecule blocked the viruses that cause colds. It stopped the viruses from working in the body.
Most of us catch a cold a few times a year. The usual treatment for a cold is to take medicine for the different symptoms. We take different things for a sore throat, a runny nose or a fever. Different viruses cause different symptoms. The researchers say the new molecule could stop all symptoms. Researcher Dr Ed Tate said it could help to end suffering for millions of people. Dr Tate believes it could also help people with more serious problems. He said: "The common cold is an inconvenience for most of us, but it can cause serious complications in people with conditions like asthma."
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11 online activities | 8-page printable (PDF)
Cold Cure - Level 3
British researchers say they are close to finding a cure for the common cold. Scientists have worked for decades on a medicine that would help to end colds. The biggest problem for researchers was finding a drug that could fight the hundreds of types of viruses that can cause a cold. The viruses are difficult to find and they change very quickly so they can fight against new drugs. Until now, there has been no way to treat cold viruses, so we all have to suffer every winter. However, scientists have developed a special molecule that could make colds a thing of the past. They tested the molecule and found that it blocked the viruses that cause colds. The molecule stopped the viruses from working in the body.
The usual treatment for a common cold is to take medicines or remedies for the different symptoms. We might take one thing for a sore throat and another thing for a runny nose or a fever. Different viruses can cause different symptoms. The researchers believe the new molecule could stop all symptoms from developing. Lead researcher Ed Tate, from London's Imperial College, said it could help millions of people end their suffering. Most of us catch a cold several times a year. Dr Tate said it could also help people with more serious problems, saying: "The common cold is an inconvenience for most of us, but it can cause serious complications in people with conditions like asthma."
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25 online activities | 27-page printable | 2-page mini-lesson
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