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.

Scientists discover new details on vital enzyme that allows for DNA sequencing

Researchers released a study in Sciences Advances that disclosed new facts about a critical enzyme that allows DNA sequencing.

16 Mar 2022

Sewer slime can accumulate SARS-CoV-2 RNA, study reports

During the COVID-19 pandemic, monitoring the levels of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater entering treatment plants has been one way that researchers have gauged the disease's spread.

10 Feb 2022

Study discovers new species of green microalga in São Paulo

A group led by researchers affiliated with the Phycology Laboratory at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, have discovered a new species of green microalga in a reservoir located in the northwest of the state.

24 Nov 2021

Accurate diagnosis of bacterial superinfection pneumonia could help avoid antibiotic overuse

Only 21 percent of patients with severe pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) have a documented bacterial superinfection at the time of intubation, resulting in potential overuse of antibiotics, according to new research published online in the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

23 Aug 2021

New plasmofluidic chip could accelerate diagnosis during current and future pandemics

Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) has been the gold standard for diagnosis during the COVID-19 pandemic.

27 May 2021

New method helps tests large groups for SARS-CoV-2 infection

Researchers at the Vienna BioCenter designed a testing protocol for SARS-CoV-2 that can process tens of thousands of samples in less than 48 hours. The method, called SARSeq, is published in the journal Nature Communications and could be adapted to many more pathogens.

25 May 2021

Telomere length decreases most rapidly from birth to age 3, shows study

Telomeres are protective caps on DNA that shorten as we grow older. Now, one of the first studies to examine telomere length (TL) in childhood finds that the initial setting of TL during prenatal development and in the first years of life may determine one's TL throughout childhood and potentially even into adulthood or older age.

25 May 2021

Environmental DNA helps track down species on the move

Many individuals would like to prevent sloughed-off skin and bodily fluids. However, for marine biologists like Cheryl Lewis Ames, Associate Professor of Applied Marine Biology in the Graduate School of Agricultural Science at Tohoku University (Japan), such life remnants have become a magical guide to detecting the unseen.

24 May 2021

Novel test detects HIV reservoir in patients more accurately

An innovative test that determines the quality and quantity of inactive HIV viruses in the genes of HIV patients may ultimately give scientists a better idea of effective drugs.

14 Apr 2021

New simpler, faster system for analyzing mutations in SARS-CoV-2

Although it is known that mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 genome occurred and spread, the effect of those mutations is not yet clear.

From Osaka University 14 Apr 2021

New handheld MasSpec Pen can identify meat and fish fraud within seconds

Meat and fish fraud are worldwide issues that cost consumers billions of dollars annually.

1 Apr 2021

Novel amplification-free rapid SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid detection platform based on HC-FIA

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for rapid and accurate nucleic acid detection at the point of care.

11 Dec 2020

Sensitive testing system allows rapid and reliable detection of resistance in bacteria

Researchers from the University of Basel have developed a sensitive testing system that allows the rapid and reliable detection of resistance in bacteria.

8 Dec 2020

Serologic testing of COVID-19 patients as an adjunct diagnostic method

A recent paper explored the possibility of using serologic testing as an adjunct diagnostic method in the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

28 Oct 2020

Exploiting CRISPR systems for the fast detection of SARS-CoV-2

A paper published on medRxiv describes a repurposed type III CRISPR-Cas system that can detect the virus from nasopharyngeal swabs in less than an hour.

26 Oct 2020

New technology rapidly diagnoses sickle cell disease

Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have developed a new way to diagnose diseases of the blood like sickle cell disease with sensitivity and precision and in only one minute.

16 Oct 2020

Study shows neutralizing antibodies can protect against SARS-CoV-2 virus

In May, a fishing vessel exited a port and returned with the first-ever proof that neutralizing antibodies offer protection from being re-infected by SARS-CoV-2.

1 Sep 2020

New method accurately detects single gene mutation in a pool of 10,000 cells

Rare genetic mutations occurring in cells cannot be detected by existing sequencing techniques because these methods do not have the required sensitivity.

1 Sep 2020

Increased blood lead levels in children are linked to reduced expression of genes

Researchers have revealed a connection between methylation of genes implicated in heme synthesis and carcinogenesis and high blood lead levels in children, signifying a previously unfamiliar mechanism for lead poisoning.

10 Aug 2020

Rapid laboratory test can aid in early diagnosis of COVID-19 in patients

A rapid laboratory test, the eosinophil count, readily obtained from a routine complete blood cell count (CBC) can aid in the early recognition of COVID-19 in patients, as well as provide prognostic information, according to new research in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association.

20 Jul 2020