In a study led by London’s Imperial College, scientists have created a mouse that can catch a cold, raising hopes of new ways to treat serious respiratory conditions and asthma.

It had been thought rhinoviruses, which cause most human colds and can trigger asthma attacks, could only affect higher primates.

Rhinoviruses were discovered 50 years ago, but the failure to find a way to infect small animals had proved to be a major stumbling block to developing new treatments. As a result, there are curently no effective treatments.