First Step In Treating Common Cold Solved

Technically known as the human rhinovirus infection, the common cold is responsible for half of all asthma attacks and is a factor in bronchitis, sinusitis, middle-ear infections and pneumonia.

Now researchers from from the University of Maryland and the University of Wisconsin-Madison have solved the first step in treating the common cold by mapping its entire genome. By mapping the genome of the common cold and assembling the results into a 'family tree,' scientists can see how the virus strains are related, as well as their differences.