GENEVA : Scientists have developed a new test that may detect the novel coronavirus more accurately and quickly, and relieve the pressure on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based tests currently used in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.
Millions of people have been tested for the novel coronavirus, most using a kit that relies on the PCR, a sensitive method that amplifies SARS-CoV-2 RNA from patient swabs so that tiny amounts of the virus can be detected.
However, as the pandemic surges, this laboratory workhorse is showing signs of strain, according to the research published in the journal ACS Nano.
Now, researchers including those from the Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zurich in Switzerland, have developed a potentially