Polymerase Chain Reaction News and Research

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Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a revolutionary laboratory technique that enables the replication of a specific DNA sequence. Using PCR, millions of copies of a target DNA can be easily synthesized within a short period of time.

Study suggests saliva swabs may be more suitable for omicron detection

New study findings reveal that saliva samples are more useful than mid-turbinate samples for the accurate detection of omicron infection.

29 Dec 2021

New strategy to create a cheap and rapid COVID-19 test based on isothermal amplification

Russian researchers have developed a strategy to create a cheap and rapid COVID-19 test based on isothermal amplification. According to their publication in Applied Biochemistry and Microbiology, use of this strategy will make it possible to create universal test systems for any of the COVID-19 variants.

29 Dec 2021

New report on 1.23 million breakthrough symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections by vaccine

A new research letter evaluates whether the estimated vaccine effectiveness changes against infection over time.

28 Dec 2021

Allele-specific RT-qPCR assay to identify SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in wastewater

Researchers develop a new allele-specific RT-qPCR to detect the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in wastewater.

23 Dec 2021

Coinfection of SARS-CoV-2 and human rhinovirus associated with more severe health outcomes

Researchers discuss the incidence and effect of coinfections with SARS-CoV-2 and human rhinovirus.

23 Dec 2021

Assessing the clinical severity of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

A recent preprint examines the proportion of Omicron infection and the risk of severe disease with this variant of SARS-CoV-2.

23 Dec 2021

More breakthrough infections but less severe COVID-19 with Omicron

In a recent study posted to the bioRxiv* pre-print server, an international team of researchers reported the occurrence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) breakthrough infections (BTIs) among health care workers (HCWs) participating in a phase III vaccine trial in Sisonke, South Africa.

22 Dec 2021

Role of novel SARS-CoV-2-derived svRNAs and the involvement of tRF in COVID-19

A new study revealed new long sv-COV-2 using T4 PNK pretreatment and qRT-PCR and also identified piRNAs and tRFs as the most abundant sncRNAs in COVID-19 positive samples.

22 Dec 2021

Sensor based on quantum effects may offer faster and accurate detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus

A novel approach to testing for the presence of the virus that causes Covid-19 may lead to tests that are faster, less expensive, and potentially less prone to erroneous results than existing detection methods. Though the work, based on quantum effects, is still theoretical, these detectors could potentially be adapted to detect virtually any virus, the researchers say.

21 Dec 2021

Comparison of SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen tests

Researchers test commercially rapid antigen tests to evaluate their analytical sensitivity and specificity, as well as clinical sensitivity for detecting SARS-CoV-2.

21 Dec 2021

Comparison of point-of-care SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic kits

A multinational group of scientists investigates the performance characteristics of several point-of-care diagnostic kits for SARS-CoV-2.

21 Dec 2021

What are the long-term effects of COVID-19 on mental health?

Researchers determine the long-term adverse mental health symptoms associated with COVID-19 by estimating acute infection severity.

21 Dec 2021

Diagnostic assays that use the 2019-nCoV-N1 primer-probe are unlikely to be impacted by Omicron variant

A new study aimed to detect the genomic material of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants, such as the recently emerged variant of concern (VOC) Omicron.

21 Dec 2021

Effect of T cell reactivity in COVID-19 infection and vaccination

Researchers recently developed an immunodiagnostic T cell assay to classify T cell immune responses of the subjects based on their coronavirus disease 2019 infection and vaccination history.

21 Dec 2021

Risk of hospitalization for infants and children with COVID-19 below 1%

Children are a low-risk group for COVID-19 following infection with SARS-CoV-2, with less than 2% of European hospitalizations with the disease being in children below the age of 19.

21 Dec 2021

Some groups are left out of Montana covid test giveaway program

As Montana's tally of new covid cases neared 1,000 each day in September, Shelly Stanley-Lehman worried about when the virus would reach her day care in Billings.

21 Dec 2021

New method to detect SARS-CoV-2 helps get reliable results more quickly

You're worried that you may have been exposed to the coronavirus, so you decide to take a test. But which do you choose?

21 Dec 2021

An Omicron wave predicted for England from December 2021 to April 2022

A study, published on the medRxiv* preprint server, focuses on the interaction between Omicron variants and public health interventions in England that promote immunity.

20 Dec 2021