Last year, a team of researchers led by Ellen Foxman and Akiko Iwasaki of Yale University provided supporting evidence for the popular notion that being in cold weather makes a person more susceptible to catching cold. They showed that mouse cells do not respond well to rhinovirus, a cause of the common cold, when incubated at temperatures lower than normal body temperature. In particular, mouse cells secreted less and were less responsive to interferon-β, a type of antiviral defense molecule. Thus, their research demonstrated a plausible molecular mechanism to explain the phenomenon. Now, the researchers are back with yet more evidence. This time, they examined human cells and focused on immune processes that were not related to interferon-β. Intentional suicide (i.e., apoptosis) is one way that cells handle viral infection. Though this process results in the death of the cell, it helps prevent the spread of the virus to other cells. But, in one set of experiments, the team showed that infected cells were much less likely to commit suicide if they were incubated at 33 degrees C., which is four degrees lower than normal body temperature. http://acsh.org/news/2016/07/11/cold-viruses-attack-when-your-immune-system-is-cold/
Time to invent the portable cabin with air conditioning. I'll also accept some sort of heatable space suit in winter.
