Molecular diagnostics are pivotal in ensuring optimal quality of life by enabling early detection of infections and diseases. The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly underscored the vital role of molecular diagnostics, especially point-of-care (POC) diagnostics, in managing global health crises. The World Health Organization (WHO) has outlined criteria for POC testing, summarized by the acronym “ASSURED”: Accurate, Specific, Sensitive, User-friendly, Robust, and Deliverable to end-users. Efforts are ongoing to develop CRISPR-based diagnostic methods that align with these criteria, with the aim of enhancing pandemic response capabilities and facilitating the early detection of viruses and disease markers. This is particularly crucial for improving human health outcomes in under-resourced and low-income regions. In this virtual issue, we capture recent innovations within the field of molecular diagnostics that use CRISPR enzymes to advance technologies for nucleic acid detection, improving our measurement capabilities and inspiring the next generation of POC diagnostics.