--- title: "CRISPR-Based COVID-19 Tests Could Work in Just 5 Minutes" description: "Ultrasensitive COVID-19 tests based on the popular gene-editing technique CRISPR could be just around the corner, as IEEE Spectrum reports." date: "2020-12-21" modified: "2020-12-21" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/crispr-based-covid-19-tests-work-5-minutes" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Prosthetics and Devices" tags: - "coronavirus" - "covid19" - "CRISPR" --- # CRISPR-Based COVID-19 Tests Could Work in Just 5 Minutes ![Ultrasensitive COVID-19 tests based on the popular gene-editing technique CRISPR could be just around the corner, as IEEE Spectrum reports.]() *\Image: Mammoth Biosciences\* Ultrasensitive COVID-19 tests based on the popular gene-editing technique CRISPR could be just around the corner, [*IEEE Spectrum* reports](). While other rapid antigen tests can be completed in less than hour, they come with sensitivity issues. CRISPR-based tests, however, could take as little as five minutes — but still provide highly reliable results. The tests can be carried out simply using a smartphone app. Two of these tests, as outlined in papers published in the journals *[Science Advances]()* and *[Cell](),* could diagnose COVID-19 in a fraction of an hour. One RNA test developed by the team behind the research published in *Cell* uses a nasal swab sample. It could detect COVID-19 in those who are highly contagious in less than five minutes. Scientists who have built diagnostic kits using research from both teams are now waiting for approval from the Food and Drug Administration, according to *IEEE Spectrum*. "CRISPR is still a relatively new method on the market, and it’s interesting to potentially be part of this first wave of CRISPR diagnostics," Melanie Ott, director of the Gladstone Institute of Virology and a leader of the *Cell* study, told the publication. According to [previous research](), detecting traces of COVID-19 in saliva proved to be a lot more difficult than from uncomfortable nasal swabs. Concentrations of the virus were simply much lower in saliva than in samples taken from the back of the throat. Luckily, scientists behind the research published in *Science Advances* found that CRISPR is able to isolate the virus in a much more efficient way, allowing it to spot viral RNA in saliva samples — and with great precision. During tests, the team found their CRISPR-based test produced no false positives when tricked with other pathogens. Ott and her team are now testing a prototype that could be used at home and cost less $10 per cartridge. ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()