The National Centre for Biological Sciences, a Bengaluru-based research organisation, has come out with a Covid-19 test that does not require a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) machine and can be altered to detect mutant strains of the virus.

PHANTOM efficiently detects the presence of viral RNA in human patient samples, with clear distinction from samples designated negative for the virus. This diagnostic tool was developed using RNA biosensors to detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA, based on “toehold switches”, sensors which can be designed to detect any sequence of interest.

A lab at the city-based NCBS has discovered iron-sensing RNAs called Sensei.