Shruti Tyagi
The science of microbiology is so intriguing because even the smallest of particles, such as the SARS-CoV-2 virus, can cause destruction at a cellular, organismal, or even international level. This has been evident from the ways in which numerous small businesses, schools, and families. However, what is perhaps one of the most devastating results of the COVID-19 pandemic is how it has afflicted women and minorities to the greatest extent. In December 2020 alone, women lost 156,000 jobs, while men gained 16,000. In fact, 100 percent of all 140,000 jobs lost in December were of female employees, depicting a stark contrast in the ways economic shutdowns have affected the sexes. Additionally, black women in Michigan have faced a higher number of COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 than Latinos, Asian Americans, white Americans, and Native Americans combined. Nonetheless, biomedical engineers at UC Berkeley have led a way to mitigate the economic and health effects of COVID on minorities and civilians in general with the applications of advent technologies.
While previous SARS-Cov-2 virus testing has taken weeks for results, leading to increased spread of the coronavirus and delaying economic recovery, Berkeley engineers have created a method to identify not only COVID-19 diagnoses, but also viral loads via the administration of a simple 15-to-30 minute nose-swab test. This is because past testing has involved polymerase chain reactions (PCR), where SARS-Cov-2 viral RNA was converted into DNA and then amplified to detect a presence in the body. Alternatively, these new engineers have utilized the CRISPR Cas13a protein, which can bind to SARS-Cov-2 RNA segments directly instead of requiring the conversion to DNA, thus becoming more time-efficient. Through adaptive immunity, the Cas13a protein carries an RNA strand with a complementary sequence to the RNA of COVID-19. It can then identify and bind to the SARS-Cov-2 RNA strand. With the attachment of a fluorescent probe to the Cas13a protein, the binding of Cas13a proteins to RNA triggers the fluorescent light of the probe to be released. A cellular device can then measure the amount of fluorescence produced by the probe, where greater brightness of the light indicates a greater viral load. Because viral loads refer to the number of viral segments in a singular sample, higher viral loads indicate a further progression of COVID-19 infection and disease. The brightness of the fluorescent light as detected by the camera can therefore provide clues as to how long an individual must be quarantined relative to their stage of infection.
The link that this innovation has between medicine and engineering shows that engineers are not restricted to physical devices when it comes to making a difference in the raging pandemic. Even the manipulation of minute proteins and particles via genomic engineering combined with smartphone technology can drastically improve the way COVID-19 testing is handled and greatly reduce the time needed to identify a positive case. These UC Berkeley engineers’ new technologies provide a ray of hope for the women, minorities, and small-business owners across America and beyond who have suffered from the health and political implications of pandemic closures. With the aid of earlier detection technology with a device as common as a smartphone, UC engineers believe this new method of COVID detection can potentially become available in not only hospitals and pharmacies, but also homes, business, and schools in the future. It is important to note that this innovation was made possible not only by the cross-cultural Berkeley engineering team themselves, but also local clinicians offering their expertise on detecting disease, biologists with experience regarding viral progression within cells, and fellow scientists from Gladstone Institutes and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
All in all, this new smartphone-based application of bioengineering of genomic particles paves the way for future efficiency in COVID-19 testing and may expedite the process of restoring the nation to medical and economic prosperity. Thanks to the work of engineers, we can look forward to the safety of ourselves and our loved ones, as they were able to use micro-particles to make a macro-impact!
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