Globe and Mail - Get well soon, guys: 'Man flu' is real, study finds

Just because a guy cowers in bed with aches and chills, while his girlfriend barely catches the sniffles, doesn’t make him a wuss. Women are simply less likely to succumb to bugs, the Telegraph reports. Compared with men, an Australian study found, women have a “much stronger immune response” to rhinoviruses – the germs responsible for the common cold.

The report confirms earlier research at McGill University, which found the sex hormone estrogen boosts women’s immunity by blocking the expression of a gene that leaves the body vulnerable to infections. McGill researchers suggested an immune-boosting treatment containing estrogen may be available somewhere down the road.