P365 D8: PCR

As a genetic researcher one of the most common things I do is a procedure called Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Since the 1980s this has been one of the most common laboratory procedures in biology because it allows you to take a small amount of DNA (generally less than 100 microliters, most commonly 25 microliters) or RNA and make a bunch of it. PCR is generally the first step in any of the molecular analysis done in the lab. I have no idea how many PCRs I have done through the course of grad school, but it is probably a lot. This picture shows the end product before it is run out on the gel.