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Why does winter help some respiratory viruses spread?

Cold weather does not explain every respiratory infection in the same way. In a 2007 influenza experiment, researchers varied temperature and humidity while tracking transmission between guinea pigs, isolating factors that are tangled together in human winters.

5–7 min

Questions you could explore

  • What can this animal experiment establish, and what would still need testing in people?

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Health and the body

How does daylight set the body’s clock?

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3–5 min

How does daylight set the body’s clock?

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Health and the body

How does a vaccine give the immune system a memory?

The immune system can respond differently to something it has encountered before. Vaccines make use of recognition and memory, though different vaccine types introduce the relevant information in different ways.

4–5 min

How does a vaccine give the immune system a memory?

Health and the body4–5 minThe immune system can respond differently to something it has encountered before. Vaccines make use of recognition and memory, though different vaccine types introduce the relevant information in different ways.

Health and the body

Why won’t an antibiotic treat a viral cold?

The word infection covers illnesses caused by very different organisms. An antibiotic that helps against certain bacteria has no matching target in the viruses that cause a cold.

2–3 min

Why won’t an antibiotic treat a viral cold?

Health and the body2–3 minThe word infection covers illnesses caused by very different organisms. An antibiotic that helps against certain bacteria has no matching target in the viruses that cause a cold.

Why does winter help some respiratory viruses spread? | Speech Topic | speaking.app