Why we can’t squash the common cold, even after 100 years of studying it

Why we can’t squash the common cold, even after 100 years of studying it

Before germs were first spied under a microscope by Robert Koch, a doctor from East Prussia, catching colds was blamed on evil spirits, foul weather, and medical enigmas such as blood impurities. Koch’s findings ignited the medical community in the late 19th century. Many of humanity’s dreaded afflictions soon had microbial faces of a sort and, more importantly, specific organisms for doctors and scientists to study: The cause of  tuberculosis w…