George Maltezos, Alvaro Gomez, Jiang Zhong, Frank A. Gomez, and Axel Scherer Department of Electrical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, MS 200-36 Pasadena, California 91125, USA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Los Angeles, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, California 90032-8202, USA Keck School of Medi...

s The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a technique in molecular biology to amplify a single or a few copies of a piece of DNA across several orders of magnitude, generating thousands to millions of copies of a particular DNA sequence. PCR is now a common and often indispensable technique used in medical and biological research labs for a variety of applications. There are three major steps in...

This essay on the polymerase chain reaction is one of a series developed as part of FASEB's efforts to educate the general public, and the legislators whom it elects, about the benefits of fundamental biomedical research-particularly how investment in such research leads to scientific progress, improved health, and economic well-being.