TED-Ed

Dig into two testing techniques for viruses: PCR tests to diagnose an infection and immunoassays to detect antibodies. -- A new virus emerges and spreads like wildfire. In order to contain it, researchers must first collect data about who’s been infected. Two main viral testing techniques are critical: one tells you if you have the virus and the other shows if you’ve already had it. So, how exactly do these tests work? Cella Wright explores the science of PCR tests and immunoassays. Lesson by Cella Wright, directed by Hype CG. Animator's website: https://www.hype.cg/ and https://www.luisacopetti.com/ Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletter Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreon Follow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebook Find us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitter Peep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-do-virus-tests-actually-work-cella-wright Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Carlos H. Costa, Eimann P. Evarola, Aleksandr Lyozin, Mohamed Elsayed, Alan Wilder, Marcus Appelbaum, Francisco Leos, Kevin O'Leary, Les Howard, Ten Cha, Mehmet Yusuf Ertekin, Arlene Weston, phkphk123321, Jennifer Kurkoski, Ryan B Harvey, Austin Randall, Abhishek Bansal, Jayant Sahewal, Dian Atamyanov, igor romanenko, Jose Arcadio Valdes Franco, Brandy Sarver, Guy Hardy, Tu-Anh Nguyen, Karl Laius, Madee Lo, JY Kang, Marc Bou Zeid, Abhishek Goel, Charles A Hershberger, Coenraad Keuning, Robert Seik, Heidi Stolt, Alexis Hevia, Todd Gross, Brady Jones, Christina Salvatore, Zhong Ming Zenny Tan, Karisa Caudill, Bruno Pinho, Derek Drescher, Mihail Radu Pantilimon, Amin Shahril, Mohamed Elsayed, Barthélémy Michalon, Chumi Ogbonna, Karlee Finch, Mohammad Said, jj5252 and Kelvin Lam.