It's nothing new. People new it from ancient times. For example, people did not know about cancer like they do today, but when they saw some similiar signs, they used lemon+sodiumbicarbonate to cure it. It's only recently published that this mixture detects only infected cell and destroys them.

I am not a scientist therefore i sometimes don't get the real reason under some things. But often i look to ancient times and get what i need :)