Medicine: What's Good for a Cold?

All around the Northern Hemisphere this week, with winter's assault of colds and influenza near its seasonal peak, millions of sniffling, hacking customers went to the corner drugstore to shop for what they hoped would be a cure, or at least a palliative, for their suffering. Whether they called their complaint a cold or catarrh, die GrippeĀ— or flu, the answer was the same: for none of these illnesses caused by viruses does medicine have a cure. The best that any victim can expect is the relief of some immediate symptoms and unimpeded recovery...

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