Researchers discover cause of common cold

Scientists from the Canadian University of Calgary have confirmed that the body's own immune system causes cold symptoms, not the rhinovirus itself, according to research published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

The study of 35 volunteers also found that a recently-discovered antiviral protein called viperin plays a role in the body's defense against rhinovirus. It was conducted using gene chip technology, performed by scientists at US conglomerate Proctor & Gamble. With this technology, researchers could see how every gene in the human genome responds to a stimulus, in this case a cold virus.