https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/16/mammoth-biosciences-receives-first-peer-reviewed-validation-of-crispr-based-covid-19-test/

SF-based CRISPR diagnostics startup Mammoth Biosciences has published the first peer-reviewed study that shows validation of using its testing method to detect the presence of COVID-19 in patients. The study, published in Nature, shows performance on par with existing PCR-based molecular tests, the one ones currently authorized for use by the FDA to test for the novel coronavirus.

Mammoth’s DETECTR platform is designed to have advantages over traditional testing methods in a few different ways, including in its reconfigurability to address new viruses, since it uses CRISPR to target specific genetic sequences, and activate a “cleavage” that effectively acts as a signal for the diagnostic equipment to pick up. Basically, in the same way CRISPR allows scientists to target a specific string of DNA for removal or alteration, with scalpel-like precision, Mammoth’s diagnostic allows for programmable, targeted matching with a reference string, leading to confirmation that viral RNA is present in the patient.