The future of PCR testing
From a tape-based approach that speeds up results to solar-powered devices, testing for viruses is about to become radically different.
Chances are that you have had a PCR test in the last couple years. Many of us had our noses swabbed, and waited a day—sometimes days—to find out if we were carrying the COVID virus. But PCR technology is changing dramatically.
My latest feature, for Scientific American, is a journey through the changing landscape of molecular diagnostics, from the efforts of Dr. Willy Ssengooba at Uganda’s borders to labs in the U.S. where unusual left-handed DNA is being used to make the process cheaper. New portable hand-held versions of PCR are improving access to the technology and there are also new disease dashboards that track outbreaks of respiratory and gastrointestinal viruses around the world in real-time from PCR machines directly. Meanwhile, the U.K.-based company LGC has developed a tape that is 0.3 millimeters thick and stretches up to 40 meters that allows 100,000 to 150,000 PCR tests per machine per day, which is 10 times more than any machine in the world. It’s already being put to use in New York.
You can read more about the future of PCR testing in my latest feature story: