The<unk>  <unk>  is a biochemistry and molecular biology method of nucleic acid amplification technique for exponentially amplifying a fragment of DNA, via enzymatic replication, without using a living organism (such as E. coli or yeast).<unk>  can be used for amplification of a single or few copies of a piece of DNA across several orders of magnitude, generating millions or more copies of the DNA piece. As<unk>  is an in vitro technique, it can be performed without restrictions on the form of DNA, and it can be extensively modified to perform a wide array of genetic manipulations.
Developed in 1983 by Kary Mullis,<unk>  is now a common technique used in medical and biological research labs for a variety of tasks, such as the sequencing of genes and the diagnosis of hereditary diseases, the identification of genetic fingerprints (used in forensics and paternity testing), the detection and diagnosis of infectious diseases, and the creation of transgenic organisms. Mullis won the Nobel Prize for his work on<unk> .
Polymerase chain reaction
Nucleic acid hybridization
DNA sequencing
Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction
Nucleic acid amplification technique
Southern blot
Dot blot
Molecular cloning