Researchers evaluate self-administered 'scratch-and-sniff' tests for COVID-19 A self-administered 'scratch-and-sniff' test for COVID-19 may be around the corner, according to researchers at Penn State, the University of Florida and Arizona State University. The team, which received $912,000 from the National Institutes of Health, will analyze two different smell tests with a goal of developing inexpensive, at-home tests to help identify new cases of COVID-19 and provide a warning sign of a community outbreak in time to thwart it. In 2020 alone, COVID-19 cost a million lives worldwide. It is critical that we develop new tools that can mitigate the spread of the deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus. Unfortunately, definitive SARS-CoV-2 testing has proven difficult to implement in many countries, including the United States, due to technical, financial and governmental hurdles to universal access and timely processing. Symptom-based screening offers a valuable, albeit imperfect, complement to viral testing that can help identify many individuals with the disease for isolation as well as for treatment."