Breakthrough Portends Cure For the Common Cold

breadboy21 writes with this excerpt from the Independent: "Scientists have been able to show for the first time that the body's immune defenses can destroy the common cold virus after it has actually invaded the inner sanctum of a human cell, a feat that was believed until now to be impossible. The discovery opens the door to the development of a new class of antiviral drugs that work by enhancing this natural virus-killing machinery of the cell. Scientists believe the first clinical trials of new drugs based on the findings could begin within two to five years."

Comments

Re:This is fantastic news!

[PseudonymousBraveguy]

cure

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

biochemistry

[nido]

In other words, is the main problem legal/political rather than technical ?

Yes, but it's not the sort of problem you think. The politics of the situation is that bicarbonate can't be patented, so the drug companies have to hunt for something that can be.

The best thing a person can do to prevent the common cold is to keep their body's acid/alkaline levels in balance. This is best done through diet (plenty of vegetables and fruits) and exercise (which burns off acids). If you don't want to eat right or exercise, you can consume bicarbonate directly, on an empty stomach.

A box of baking soda is $0.46 at Wal-Mart, but that's likely to throw a body's sodium/potassium levels out of balance because most people get lots of sodium and not enough potassium in their diets. Potassium Bicarbonate is a good option if you don't want to eat lots of vegetables or exercise.

This is basic biochemistry - there's no need to wait a decade for some wonder-drug.