Irish scientists from Trinity College Dublin are part of an international team which may have opened the door to a cure for the common cold.
The result of a study which investigates how viruses cause disease in humans is published today in the scientific journal, Nature Communications.
Professor John O'Leary, the Chair of Pathology at Trinity College has said they found that an ancient cell-process in plants and mammals can have the same effect on viruses in humans.
"It's been around for a long time probably in excess 1.5 billion years," he said.
"This is an extremely old conserved biologically process which is found in plants and we are aware that it also enhances viral disease in life.
"The identification of the protein but also precisely where it is in the cell is hugely important."
