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They've talked about this issue a lot on TWIV [1], and apparently many of the most commonly used PCR machines do the maximum number of cycles on every sample an
by birken 6y ago
They've talked about this issue a lot on TWIV [1], and apparently many of the most commonly used PCR machines do the maximum number of cycles on every sample and then test to see if the sample is positive or negative. So they couldn't report a cycle count even if they wanted to, the machine doesn't allow it. I don't know what percentage of PCR machines in the wild this applies to, but based on how they talk about it on the podcast, it seems like a lot of them.
Maybe the global cycle count for the machine could be adjusted, similar to what you are talking about, but that is different than reporting the cycle count of every positive test.
1: https://www.microbe.tv/twiv/ https://www.microbe.tv/twiv/
- walterbell 6y agoThe PCR test make/model could be published with each positive case, then the well-known maximum could be cross-referenced from FDA docs on each test, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24427765 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24427765 Without the Ct value, "cases" are not comparable on the basis of test positivity. With transparency on the Ct value, we can determine which tests and configurations best support health. P.S. "the machine does not allow it" could be an HN firmware challenge. If the fate of civilization depends on PCR test machines, do any of them have auditable open-source firmware?