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.

Efficient detection of the virus that causes COVID-19 has been a question on the minds of many researchers worldwide since early 2020. NCBS researcher Dr Arati Ramesh, along with Dr Akash Gulyani from the University of Hyderabad, sought to tackle the pressing need for a rapid, accurate, and inexpensive testing method.

Efficient detection of the virus that causes COVID-19 has been a question on the minds of many researchers worldwide since early 2020. NCBS researcher Dr. Arati Ramesh, along with Dr. Akash Gulyani from the University of Hyderabad, sought to tackle the pressing need for a rapid, accurate, and inexpensive testing method. A team of students from NCBS and DBT-inStem joined their efforts to create PHANTOM (PHAsed NASBA-Translation Optical Method).

A group of scientists led by Professor R. Sowdhamini at NCBS has identified the 33 small molecules from a database of over 3,30,000 small molecules using new computational research, which bind to NSP1, one of the SARS-CoV-2 proteins. The scientists have recommended that these can be taken forward for wet-lab validation.
 

Did you ever wonder why our grandmothers insisted on having a Tulsi plant (Holy Basil) in front of the house and a Moringa (Drumstick) tree in the backyard? Each and every part of the drumstick tree has a medicinal value and is a rich source of nutrients and minerals.

Scientists have just discovered that a small region of a cellular protein that helps long-term memories form also drives the neurodegeneration seen in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). This small part of the Ataxin-2 protein thus works for good and for bad.