What is the purpose of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and give an example of when you've ran one in the past?

Anonymous Answer

The purpose of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is to amplify a specific DNA sequence from a small sample. PCR consists of three steps: denaturation, annealing, and extension. During denaturation, DNA strands are separated, in annealing, primers bind to their target region, and during extension, DNA polymerase adds nucleotides to the primers to produce a new strand of DNA. I performed PCR to amplify the beta-globin gene from my blood sample, extracted the DNA, and used specific primers to target the desired gene region. I used a PCR machine to perform the amplification, and then the amplified DNA products were analyzed using gel electrophoresis. The results confirmed the presence of a healthy beta-globin gene. Mutations in the beta-globin gene can lead to various blood disorders such as sickle cell anemia and thalassemia.