اختبار جديد رخيص التكلفة لاكتشاف الشخص بفيروس كورونا

7-5-2020

Even laypeople could use this new test to detect the coronavirus

A test that uses a CRISPR gene-editing system can detect the new coronavirus in an hour, without the need for specialized equipment or trained personnel.

Feng Zhang at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and his colleagues sought to develop a test for SARS-CoV-2 that would be quicker and simpler than the current procedure, which requires expensive lab equipment and scarce reagents. The team’s CRISPR-based protocol can be performed by a layperson with access to a sous vide cooker, a piece of kitchen equipment that is commonly available for less than US$40 (J. Joung et al. Preprint at https://go.nature.com/35csgqk; 2020). The test makes results available on paper strips similar to those used in pregnancy tests. The results have not yet been peer reviewed.

The team says the test could be used in doctors’ offices, workplaces and other settings where fast diagnosis is necessary.]