Coronavirus tests: researchers chase new diagnostics to fight the pandemic

Coronavirus tests: researchers chase new diagnostics to fight the pandemic



Travel restrictions in Wuhan will be lifted from 8 April. (AFP/Getty)

PCR, serological, CRISPR: the diagnostic tests

• Most testing for COVID-19 is currently done on viral genetic material from nose and throat swabs, using a workhorse tool of molecular biology called reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The next big goal is to develop a serological test — one that can detect antibodies in someone who has already recovered. Prominent CRISPR researchers are also working on using the gene-editing technique to make faster, more accurate tests. Of course, the impact of tests depends on how authorities use them — an area where some countries, notably the United States, have stalled. (Nature | 6 min read)
  Read more: Continuously updated list of the tests in commercial development and in-depth analysis from Nature Biotechnology.
• The United Kingdom is implementing a stringent shutdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, joining other nations that have put in place unprecedented rules to fight the pandemic. “The time has now come for us all to do more,” said Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a broadcast yesterday. (Nature | Continuously updated)
• The malaria drug chloroquine, which is being trialled as a potential treatment for COVID-19, has long been used in nanomedicine for studying nanoparticle uptake by cells. Three nanomedicine researchers share their insights into how, exactly, chloroquine might affect the virus SARS-CoV-2. (Nature Nanotechnology | 8 min read)
• ProMED is a low-tech service run by public-health researchers that specializes in capturing — and vetting — the online chatter that gives early clues to an outbreak, including the earliest sightings of COVID-19. On a shoestring budget, the website and email list offers widely respected information that supports slower-moving, more formal epidemiology. (Wired | 8 min read)
• The eminent London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is offering a free 3-week online course on COVID-19 and its implications. It has no prerequisites, world-leading lecturers and translations in Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italian. (London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine | 4 hours per week)

Read the latest coronavirus news, continuously updated on Nature.