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Who’s your daddy?
Yep, PCR is used in paternity tests through a process called genetic fingerprinting. Since about half of a person’s chromosomal DNA comes from the father, comparing a DNA sample from the alleged father to one from the child can determine their relationship.
It’s possible to conduct RFLP genetic profiling without using PCR, but most tests nowadays use PCR in one way or another because it is fast and cheap.
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
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Polymerase Chain Reaction, that is.
Said you can amplify in vitro just as well Bio-Rad – The PCR Song
What is this?
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Dr. Kary Mullis is a badass Berkeley scientist who avoids lab work and instead thinks about research topics while driving and surfing. He famously came up with the idea for perfecting PCR while tripping balls, which he demonstrated (the PCR, not the acid trip) in 1983.
What if I had not taken LSD ever; would I have still invented PCR? I don’t know. I doubt it. I seriously doubt it.
You had to grow tons and tons of tiny cells Bio-Rad – The PCR Song
What is this?
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DNA amplification is the process of creating multiple copies of a particular DNA sequence.
Gene amplification happens naturally in cells to more strongly express that gene’s phenotype. But DNA amplification usually refers to the lab technique, necessary because having multiple copies of the same sequence makes it easier to use other analytic and diagnostic tools (like gel electrophoresis and genetic fingerprinting).
The traditional method made use of host cells that would take DNA vectors and naturally create copies of it. As these cells were allowed to divide over several generations, the multiple copies of DNA could be extracted from that culture.
