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Air monitor can detect COVID-19 virus variants in about 5 minutes

Clockwise from front left: Cirrito, Chakrabarty, Puthussery and Yuede stand alongside the SARS-CoV-2 wet cyclone aerosol sampler they developed. (Photo: Shubham Sharma)
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Now that the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic has ended, scientists are looking at ways to surveil indoor environments in real time for viruses. By combining recent advances in aerosol sampling technology and an ultrasensitive biosensing technique, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have created a real-time monitor that can detect any of the SARS-CoV-2 virus variants in a room in about 5 minutes.