That... doesn't make any sense. What does the ability to run recombinant procedures (however ill advised doing so might be) have to do with running an assay on a human sample for diagnostic (as opposed to research) purposes?

To be perfectly clear:

* The CDC has already made an RT-PCR protocol plus associated primer and probe sequences publicly available.

* BSL-2 labs that do cell culture and employ viral vectors for transfection [1] are quite common in academia.

[1] https://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/references/gibco-cel...

Is it not enough to have the complete genome? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/NC_045512

you are looking at a primary sequence-

there are structural conformations that are not indicated-

you must exploit a biological system that will create a functional virion-

before you do that , if you understand genodynamics of the sequence you can start making good guesses about where to change the sequence in what way-

this can be because you want attenuation of the virus with an extreme degree of control-

this is how you make a recombinant product that is not as damaging to the host and produces a strong antigenic signal to the immune system this means you have a vaccine-

of course this is also a dualpotential technology so it could be used for evil and weaponized, so we want to have some inspection regarding who has these opportunities

Are you saying that if i had the test for corona, and then a bunch of knowhow and some wizbang machines I could start making the virus? I was always terrible at biology.

you could start altering the virus-

you could create an mRNA and arrange the proper signaling and delivery [hopefully] and do something very risky like try to biohack an adaptive immune response into a vaccination

thus the disclaimer ~ dont put it in people

I think you've misunderstood. The CDC page I linked provides a diagnostic protocol for testing samples for presence of the virus. The disclaimer explicitly forbids using the protocol as a diagnostic test in a medical setting, reminding the reader that it is not approved for such use and is to be used for research purposes only. That's the silly part - industrial biotech oligos are _more_ than reliable enough for human diagnostic testing during an active crisis.

its not about reliability its about being vetted into the process, rather than have a bunch of randos doing things and making a bunch of reporting noise.

there is a form if you want to see about trying to help out:

if you want to request the RT/PCR kit:

[1] https://www.internationalreagentresource.org/About/IRR.aspx

If you think you have a good idea and want to help:

[2] https://medicalcountermeasures.gov/app/barda/coronavirus.asp...

A bunch of randos? You mean trained lab technicians with extensive experience running RT-PCR assays on a regular basis? You mean biotech vendors that already synthesize ultra high purity custom oligos? https://www.genewiz.com/en/Public/Services/Oligo

It's quite possible I've missed some crucial piece of information about why this wouldn't work. So far though, I've seen no reasonable explanation as to why we need specially approved kits at this point. These are standard reagents and standard techniques; the lack of widespread rapid testing in the US is bureaucratic in nature, not technical.

>the lack of widespread rapid testing in the US is bureaucratic in nature, not technical.

that is the thing right there-

the federal government has OCD when it comes to a lot of things its not that you dont have a reputation as a professional, its that you/we dont have a rep with them until they check us out.

+ if you want a kit use form [1]

if you think the kit is somehow deficient goto form [2]

that is the way federal government engages.