The Discovery of PCR: ProCuRement of Divine Power

Excerpt

One of the great quests of humanity has been to understand and harness the forces that pervade the universe. A prime example was the ability to control nuclear chain reactions in the laboratory, which of course had immense ramifications for the generation of power and the production of useful isotopes, but also for the creation of weapons capable of massive destruction that to this day remains an existential threat to our planet. Just as Prometheus came too close to the divine fire, the revelation of these heretofore-unobtainable powers can be immensely beneficial or utterly destructive. Another kind of chain reaction, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), invented several decades ago, is an additional example of humanity acquiring formerly unobtainable powers, in this case, the ability to exponentially amplify perfect copies of biologic material, which is an essential attribute of every known life form. In this case, the ramifications have been overwhelmingly positive, with an explosion of knowledge in a multitude of diverse fields, characteristic of a true paradigm shift. In the research laboratory, PCR has become indispensible for genetic cloning, sequencing and measurement of gene expression, among a myriad of other uses. In medicine, PCR is used to precisely identify microbes, whether an individual pathogen or a population of diverse organisms as constitutes the gut microbiota. PCR is also useful for the analysis of human DNA for mutations and polymorphisms, and for typing tissues and blood. PCR has also been of benefit to areas well outside of science and medicine as well: the use of PCR-based DNA “fingerprinting” represents the probable greatest advance in forensic analysis in the last 50 years. PCR has also revolutionized the field of molecular paleontology, since DNA can be sequenced from dried or fossilized specimens that are thousands or even millions of years old. …