Real time RT-PCR (reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction) is now one of the most accurate laboratory methods for detecting, tracking, and studying the coronavirus.
RT-PCR is a nuclear-derived method for detecting the presence of specific genetic material from any pathogen, including a virus. In order for a virus like the coronavirus to be detected early in the body, using real time RT-PCR, scientists need to convert the RNA to DNA.
This is a process called ‘reverse transcription’. They do this because only DNA can be copied – or amplified – which is a key part of the real time RT-PCR process for detecting viruses.
Scientists amplify a specific part of the transcribed viral DNA hundreds of thousands of times. By this amplification, instead of trying to spot a minuscule amount of the virus among millions of strands of genetic information, scientists have a large enough quantity of the target sections of viral DNA. This facilitates in the accurate confirmation that the virus is present.
BPCS Notes brings Prelims and Mains programs for BPCS Prelims and BPCS Mains Exam preparation. Various Programs initiated by BPCS Notes are as follows:-