Chasing Life – “Why Haven’t We Cured the Common Cold?”

Podcast: Chasing Life
Host: CNN Podcasts (Guest Host: Meg Tirrell)
Episode Date: December 12, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of Chasing Life investigates one of medicine’s most persistent mysteries: despite decades of research and the enormous economic and human toll, why haven't we found a cure or vaccine for the common cold? Guest host Meg Tirrell interviews leading researchers who have devoted their careers to studying colds, exploring the many scientific and practical challenges that stand between us and a cure. The episode covers both the history of common cold research and the recent advances—and setbacks—in developing treatments and vaccines.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Enigma of the Common Cold

• Frequency and Impact

  • The average adult suffers 2–4 colds yearly (children up to 10) [02:29].
  • Annual US economic burden is estimated at $40 billion [02:28].

• Persisting Challenge

  • Dr. Arnold Monto, who has studied colds for 50 years, admits little has changed in how we treat them:

    "Basically, in terms of what we can do for them, it hasn't really changed."
    — Dr. Arnold Monto (01:00)

2. History of Common Cold Research

• Early Research Efforts

  • Post-WWII, the UK established a dedicated Common Cold Research Unit, using “human guinea pigs” to study virus transmission and search for cures [03:09-04:19].

  • Experiments included inoculating volunteers with nasal secretions to confirm causation:

    "They took material from individuals who had common colds that they couldn't identify the cause, and they inoculated them into other people and discovered, yes, we can produce a cold from it."
    — Dr. Arnold Monto (04:00)

• Vaccine and Drug Attempts

  • 1961: Aspirin and hot whiskey were popular cures in absence of real treatments [04:32].
  • 1980s: Interferon nasal spray showed promise, but caused nasal bleeding and wasn't safe for mass use [05:02].
  • 2000s: Placoneirol, an antiviral, failed in final trials due to side effects impacting menstrual cycles—deemed unsafe for wide distribution [05:07-06:04].

3. Scientific and Practical Barriers

• Diversity of Causative Viruses

  • The common cold isn’t a single disease but a collection of symptoms caused by over 200 virus types, most commonly rhinoviruses and coronaviruses [06:32].
  • No single vaccine can cover all, a key reason for slow progress:

    "The problem with the common cold is that many different viruses can cause it. And so far it's proved impossible to make a vaccine which will combat them all."
    — Common Cold Research Unit Narrator (07:49)

• Risk-Benefit Ratio

  • Because colds are self-limiting, any treatment must have minimal side effects:

    "You can't use something which we would against a more severe illness without knowing that it's very safe."
    — Dr. Arnold Monto (06:16)

4. The Rhinovirus: Nature’s Perfect Pathogen

• Why Rhinoviruses Are So Successful

  • Over 180 types; infect quickly, stay localized in the nose.
  • Transmission is optimized—not too severe to force humans into isolation, but causes enough symptoms to facilitate spreading:

    "I often tell students that I think it's the most perfectly adapted human pathogen because it's so fast, it transmits easy. It doesn't cause very severe disease, which is what the virus wants."
    — Dr. Gary McLean (13:35)

• Immunological Evasion

  • The immune system struggles to keep up due to the sheer diversity and rapid mutation of cold viruses [09:42-10:29].

5. Current and Future Research Directions

• Vaccine Development Obstacles

  • Past vaccines tried to use inactivated virus, but failed because of the many strains—efforts abandoned in the 1970s [12:16-13:30].

• Promising Approaches

  • Dr. Gary McLean at Imperial College London is developing a T cell–stimulating vaccine targeting conserved internal rhinovirus proteins:

    "If we were able to, you know, reset immunity in those people and at the same time protect against new rhinovirus infections, that would go a long way towards stopping hospitalizations."
    — Dr. Gary McLean (15:27)

  • Nasal spray delivery is seen as the best method for future cold vaccines, but progress is slow [16:48].

• Who Would Benefit Most?

  • Priority for severe-risk groups: those with COPD, chronic lung diseases, and the elderly [15:27-16:16].

• Timeline and Optimism

  • Dr. McLean's work shows progress in animal models, but a broadly effective, human-ready vaccine is still years away:

    "It's kept incrementally working, each time getting better and better and better. But of course, still far away from covering all of those 180 types of rhinovirus."
    — Dr. Gary McLean (16:35)

6. Expert Strategies for Dealing with Colds (Until There's a Cure)

• Symptom Management Tips
  • Dr. McLean: "I drink lots of water. I will also take vitamin C...try and let it run its course and try not to get dehydrated typically." (17:19)
  • Dr. Monto: "I'll take some antihistamines early...and then do what most people do, and that is suffer and try to stay away from other people." (17:32)
  • Dr. McLean (wryly): "A couple of aspirin and a hot whiskey." (17:57)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Enduring Nature of Colds:

  "It's one of those things that everybody gets and everybody knows there's nothing much you can do about it. So it's kind of an interesting story, isn't it?"
  — Dr. Gary McLean (09:13)

• On Scientific Optimism:

  "Will we be able to stop it? I don't know. I hope so. It's not gonna stop me from trying."
  — Dr. Gary McLean (14:17)

• On Vaccine Development:

  "I'm beginning to think you have to have a certain level of optimism to be able to work on the common cold."
  — Meg Tirrell (16:48)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment / Topic | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------| | 00:02 | Dr. Monto introduces his decades of research | | 02:28 | Prevalence and economic cost of the common cold | | 03:09 | History: Common Cold Research Unit and early studies | | 05:02 | Failed treatments (Interferon, Placoneirol) | | 06:32 | Why a vaccine is so hard to develop | | 07:49 | Multiple viruses cause the “common cold” | | 09:13 | Dr. McLean on the universality and intractability of colds| | 10:22 | List of viruses causing colds (rhinovirus, etc.) | | 13:35 | The perfection of the rhinovirus as a human pathogen | | 15:27 | Vaccine hopes for high-risk groups | | 16:35 | Incremental progress on T-cell vaccine | | 17:19 | How researchers treat their own colds |

Conclusion

The episode provides a hopeful but realistic portrait of why the common cold remains uncured: the immense variety of viruses, their rapid mutation, and their unique evolutionary adaptation to human hosts all present scientific hurdles. While incremental progress is being made—especially in T cell–targeted vaccines for high-risk groups—a universal cure or prevention remains a challenge for the future. In the meantime, experts recommend basic symptom management and, above all, patience.

Tone:
Throughout, the conversation is curious, grounded, and lightly self-deprecating, acknowledging the frustration and humor inherent in still chasing a cure for something so basic after decades of earnest effort.