ABOVE: Feluda-based detection of SARS-CoV-2
DR. DEBOJYOTI CHAKRABORTY’S LAB, CSIR-IGIB
In 1965, the famous Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray created a beloved fictional detective named Feluda. In a series of short stories, the astute gumshoe tracks a vandal trying to destroy the ancient temples of India, busts a counterfeit medicine racket in Kathmandu, and cleans Bombay smugglers’ clocks. Inspired by the great analytical skills of the detective, researchers at the Delhi-based Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology have given their new CRISPR-based diagnostic for COVID-19 the affectionate nickname of Feluda (short for FnCas9 Editor Linked Uniform Detection Assay). TataMD Check, the commercial name of the test powered by Feluda, was launched on November 9 in India.
The test uses the CRISPR-Cas system to probe for genetic sequences specific to the SARS-CoV-2 virus in samples from nasal swabs or saliva applied to a paper strip. Like the ...
