However, researchers at Stanford and the University of California, San Francisco may have found a way to stop many of these viruses, including rhinoviruses, in their tracks. In the new study published in the journal Nature Microbiology, Carette and his fellow researchers found a certain protein that’s key to the viruses being able to replicate, which allows the cold to flourish. The researchers disabled this protein in human lung cells in culture, as well as in mice, and found that it stopped the viruses from replicating, preventing infection.

“We have identified a single human protein that helps the common cold virus to replicate and spread,” Carette tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “Inactivating this protein could be a new strategy to prevent colds.”

He adds: “Most cases of the common cold are caused by rhinoviruses. There are more than 150 types of this virus. A typical vaccine like the influenza vaccine contains at most four types, so making it for all 150 strains would be extremely challenging. Our approach is different because we only have to target this one human protein that all of these different types depend on to make us sick.”