Why is it so hard to cure the common cold?
- 508,959 Views
- 3,093 Questions Answered
- TEDEd Animation
Let’s Begin…
Create and share a new lesson based on this one.
Scientists have been trying to crack the code of the cold for decades. But medical understanding of how best to treat a cold, or even how one is most likely to catch a cold, is still nebulous. Because more than 200 viruses are known to cause the symptoms attributed to the common cold, and because viruses are constantly mutating, researchers have yet to develop an effective vaccine that will eliminate this incessant ailment from our daily lives. However, new studies using the gene-editing tool CRISPR have made exciting headway in the design of an antiviral drug that could finally solve this medical mystery.

Create and share a new lesson based on this one.
More from Getting Under Our Skin
604,362 views
373,669 views
708,195 views
369,964 views