Explosion of New Coronavirus Tests That Could Help to End the Pandemic
2020
The standard test to detect SARS-CoV-2, the reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction, or RT-PCR, requires trained personnel, specific chemical supplies and expensive instruments that take hours to provide results and are often available only in labs that provide routine, centralized services. This limits the number of tests that can be done, especially in developing countries. Research groups around the world are now devising tests that go beyond PCR. Dozens of diagnostic methods are in development, all of which detect viral material but in different ways: some are tweaks for RT-PCR that make the test faster or easier to use; others use the gene-editing tool CRISPR to home in on genetic snippets of SARS-CoV-2; and some identify the virus using proteins that sit on its surface.
Explosion of New Coronavirus Tests That Could Help to End the Pandemic
Source:
Guglielmi G. The Explosion of New Coronavirus Tests That Could Help to End the Pandemic. Nature 2020; 583 (7817): 506-509. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-02140-8
Not Open Access