Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Scientists at Edinburgh Napier University celebrate ‘exciting discovery’ in search for cure for common cold

Scientists at Edinburgh Napier University have made an exciting discovery in the search for a cure for the common cold (PA Archive)
Scientists at Edinburgh Napier University have made an exciting discovery in the search for a cure for the common cold (PA Archive)

A tiny molecule found in the immune systems of humans and animals has been hailed as an “exciting discovery” in the search for a cure for the common cold.

Scientists at Edinburgh Napier University have discovered possible new treatments based on antimicrobial peptides that occur naturally in humans and animals, and increase the body’s natural response to infection.

A five-year study into peptides from different mammals found they all have properties that can combat rhinovirus, the main virus responsible for the common cold infection in humans.

Dr Peter Barlow, associate professor of immunology and infection at the university, said research is still in the early stages, but added: “We will ultimately be looking to develop drug treatments that have the potential to cure the common cold.”

The next step in the project will see scientists try to modify the peptide to make it better at killing the rhinovirus, he said.

“There is no cure and no vaccine so the development of effective therapies for human rhinovirus, the main causal agent of the common cold, and one of the most common causes of viral respiratory tract infections, is an urgent requirement,” he said.

“This study represents a major step towards finding a treatment.”

An effective treatment for the cold could help sufferers of more serious lung conditions, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), for whom viral infections can pose a serious health risk.

Earlier research by Dr Barlow had underlined the potential of antimicrobial peptides in tackling the influenza A virus.

The £200,000 latest study, funded by the Chief Scientist Office and medical research charity Tenovus Scotland, expanded this work to explore the possibility of using antimicrobial peptides from pigs and sheep to fight the rhinovirus.

Using peptides synthesised in the laboratory, researchers Filipa Henderson Sousa and Dr Victor Casanova assessed the impact of the different peptides on lung cells infected with human rhinovirus.

The peptides successfully attacked the virus, and could provide clues for developing novel treatments based on peptides found in nature.

Dr Barlow said: “This is an exciting discovery and our next steps will be to modify the peptide to make it even better at killing this virus.

“This research is still in the early stages, but we will ultimately be looking to develop drug treatments that have the potential to cure the common cold.”