UK megalab opens to process hundreds of thousands of Covid tests and identify new variants

The UK’s first testing megalab - which will process hundreds of thousands of Covid-19 samples every day - has opened as the “centrepiece” of the country’s future test and trace infrastructure, the government has said. The new Rosalind Franklin laboratory in Royal Leamington Spa will play a role in responding to new Covid variants of concern and future disease threats as part of plans to prevent another national lockdown. The facility is named after the British scientist who played a key role in the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA and in pioneering the use of X-ray diffraction.