A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test detects genetic material from a pathogen or abnormal cell sample. Ways of collecting samples include a nasal swab, a saliva swab, or taking a sample of blood.

Tokyo — Researchers in Japan announced "game changing" research this week that found simple saliva tests for COVID-19 are just as reliable as the widely used, but more complicated and uncomfortable, ...

Last week, I was about to go on a date, and because I'm severely immunocompromised, we agreed he would take a COVID test using one of my rapid home molecular tests. It was a courtesy—he felt perfectly ...

While they've been the gold standard to identify positive coronavirus cases around the world for more than a year, PCR tests still aren't trusted by some social media users. An Oct. 4 Instagram post ...

Minute Molecular, the company developing the device, has high hopes for it as an efficient and accurate means of testing people at schools, workplaces and sports stadiums. Northwestern ...

A new biotechnology company in McKinney has ambitions to become the world’s first fully integrated platform for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing — the same technology behind a common COVID-19 ...

A bacterial discovery at Yellowstone 55 years ago has been key to the development of PCR testing, the most reliable way to know whether someone has COVID-19. National parks aren’t just fun places to ...

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test kits for COVID-19 use what’s known as gene cloning – not reproductive cloning – to detect the presence or absence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but social media posts ...