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For most of us, the COVID-19 virus has been a malevolent force, destroying jobs, wealth and social mobility. But for some, this new epoch is also an opportunity to draw on a lifetime of work to do good.

Paul Lem, the founder and chief executive of Spartan Bioscience, for one. A few weeks ago, he and his fellow scientists pivoted abruptly from ongoing projects to focus on what seems the perfect application for one of its technology platforms — a way of quickly determining who has contracted the COVID-19 virus.

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“It’s terrible what’s happening around the world,” Lem said, “and we want to do our part to help solve this crisis.”

Lem said he expects within weeks to have a hand-held product capable of identifying the COVID-19 virus within 30 to 45 minutes, a speedy result made possible because the necessary analysis is done on-site. It does not have to go to a laboratory for processing, as is the case with most other DNA test technology. If the Spartan device works as expected, it would be ideal for use at border crossings, remote communities, physicians’ offices, among other venues.