Fast, portable test can diagnose COVID-19 and track variants

Salk Professor Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte and collaborators have developed a new viral screening test that can not only diagnose COVID-19 in a matter of minutes with a portable, pocket-sized machine, but can also simultaneously test for other viruses—like influenza—that might be mistaken for the coronavirus. Called NIRVANA, this test can sequence the virus, providing valuable information on the spread of COVID-19 mutations and variants.