Test detects virus within 5 minu

Researchers developed what they claim is the world's fastest diagnostic testing method for the novel coronavirus, a procedure that takes less than 5 minutes.A team led by Rikiya Watanabe, a chief researcher at the Riken national research institute in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, plans to quickly develop equipment for the method and start a clinical trial by the end of March 2023.Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests are widely used in Japan to check for infection, but it takes at least an hour before the results are known because the method involves a process that amplifies the coronavirus's ribonucleic acid (RNA), which stores genetic information of the virus.The new method does not require this step