Ask HN: Any biomolecular/bio-lab hackers working on DIY RT-PCR tests?
Uh, sorry to be that guy, but if you have no experience with lab techniques, microbiology, lab instrumentation, or analytical method validation, this isn&#x27;t the sort of thing you can reasonably expect to accomplish without dedicating several years of your life to getting the necessary technical skills, to say nothing of the huge sums of money it would take to set up your own lab.<p>It&#x27;s kind of like deciding you want to build your own 3 story house by hand. You can do it, but buying a bunch of lumber and tools is a far cry from having the necessary skill to actually build it. Science is <i>hard</i>.<p>There&#x27;s also a major ethical issue about the medical implications of testing someone for a stigmatized disease if you&#x27;re not clear on the validity of the test. False positives and false negatives have a major impact on your community. And hand-waving away the implications of reporting a false positive or negative with the statistical caveats of the results doesn&#x27;t cut it.<p>Patients tend to take test results at face value, so the responsibility to of weighing the ethical ramifications of when it&#x27;s strictly necessary and when it&#x27;s irresponsible to administer an unreliable test for a given patient fall squarely on your shoulders. (Not that that excuses the current administration&#x27;s policy of negatively biasing reporting by not testing anyone.)