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Polymerase Chain Reaction - Frequently Asked Questions

Medically Reviewed by Dr. S. Kevin Fernando, MBBS on Apr 19, 2016


Frequently Asked Questions

1. How can PCR products become contaminated?

PCR products from previous cycles can contaminate products of PCR. Therefore care should be taken to avoid such contaminations.

2. What is known as a two step PCR?

When the melting temperatures of the primers are very high, then the annealing step and the chain elongation step can be combined.


3. How was PCR discovered?

Kary Mullis was working on analyzing mutations when he found that what he had discovered instead was a way to amplify DNA, during a motorcycle trip along the West Coast of the U.S.

4. Why would a doctor recommend PCR?

Doctors would recommend PCR to identify pathogens that cannot be easily cultivated in a culture dish. Moreover, PCR can also be used to identify the presence of cancer mutations that may be present.

5. Is it possible to get a false positive result with PCR?

Contamination of the sample can lead to false positive results.

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