Lily Jebejian

Gallagher, James. “Common Cold Stopped by Experimental Approach.” BBC News, BBC, 16 Sept. 2019, www.bbc.com/news/health-49682583.

Almost everyone experiences a cold once in a while; the sore throat and runny nose plagues us all. But now, researchers at Stanford University are beginning to develop a way to fight the common cold. They are using a technique in which they can change the DNA of a cell through gene-editing. This allows for scientists to switch off the protein methyltransferase SETD3, a protein they found critical in the survival of the virus in mice. The mice without the protein were completely protected and never caught the virus. The virus would not be able to survive without the protein, because it required parts of the cell and the protein to reproduce and stay alive. The cells they modified could be found in the cytoskeleton of the cell. Moving forward, researchers say they will attempt to create a drug which would suppress the protein within the cell, creating an impossible environment for the virus to survive. This experiment is not yet safe for humans and requires extensive research, but is the crucial first step to finding the cure for the common cold.

This research could have a drastic effect on society by finally finding the cure for the common cold. Everyone gets a cold at some point of their life, but for most people it is more of an inconvenience than a life-threatening illness. Except in rare cases where paralysis can be caused when the illness spreads to the brain, and for asthmatics whose symptoms are amplified by the common cold. There is also importance because of the potential of allowing scientists to overcome virus mutations, “‘There is increasing interest in developing treatments that target these host proteins, because it can potentially overcome virus mutation - one of the major barriers to developing effective broadly active antivirals’”(Gallagher), stated Professor Jonathan Ball, a virologist at the University of Nottingham. In conclusion, this experimentation is not only helping to find a cure for the common cold, but is also opening doors to new developments surrounding the topic.

Overall, I think the article was fascinating to read and very relatable because it covered a topic I could invest myself in. The article explained the procedure and the relevance of the experiment very well, but one aspect I think was lacking was explaining what the common cold is and how it affects human. I believe going deeper into the functions of the common cold would have made the article much more intriguing. Another aspect that was well done in the article was the use of quotes from unbiased scientists who were outside of the experiment. This really gave the article perspective, making it easier to believe. In conclusion, the article by James Gallagher was very well written, making it easy to understand a complicated subject that relates to everyday life.