Not enough COVID-19 tests? No problem, we'll make them!

63 Degrees North

Not enough COVID-19 tests? No problem, we’ll make some!

When the coronavirus first transformed from a weird respiratory disease centered in Wuhan, China to a global pandemic, no one was really prepared. Worldwide, no one had enough masks, personal protective gear and definitely — not enough tests.

The problem was especially acute in places like Norway, a small country that had to compete on a global market to get anything and everything.

What happened when a molecular biologist, some engineers and a couple of PhDs and postdocs put their heads together to design a completely different kind of coronavirus test — and how it changed lives in India, Denmark and Nepal. This last country was given coronavirus tests as NTNU’s annual Christmas gift, in coordination with a volunteer organization called NepalimedNorway.

Our guests on today’s show are Magnar Bjørås, Sulalit Bandyopadhyay, Vegar Ottesen, Anuvansh Sharma and Tonje Steigedal.

There's a transcript for today's show here.

You can read more in detail about the tests here: https://www.ntnu.edu/ntnu-covid-19-test

And here is a list of articles from NTNU and SINTEF’s online research magazine, Norwegian SciTech News:

NTNU’s new COVID-19 test to be used in India and Denmark

NTNU establishes a factory to produce coronavirus tests

From thousands of tiny balls to 150,000 tests per week

This episode was written, recorded, edited and produced by Nancy Bazilchuk. Sound design and editorial assistance from Randi Lillealtern at Historiebruket.

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