PCR Has Proved To Be An Invaluable Technique For The Detection Of Many Genetic Diseases

PCR HAS PROVED TO BE AN INVALUABLE TECHNIQUE FOR THE DETECTION OF MANY GENETIC DISEASES
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Introduction
Almost all diseases contain a genetic component, although there is a disparity in the extent to which genes contribute to certain diseases. Nevertheless, genetic diseases are quite varied and pose a great danger to human life. Given this fact, it is still challenging to detect these diseases early enough for intervention and treatment for proper control. A genetic disease is a disease caused by an abnormality in the genetic set up of an individual. Medics have relied on less reliable methods to diagnose and identify genetic diseases among the patients. These are the family history and physical examination. Family history, for example, relies on obtaining a comprehensive history for a family so as to examine those diseases that have affected the ancestors or parents to the patient and suspect a possibility of the same disease recurring. However, it does not confirm or help in pointing out the disease. Physical examination, on the other hand, relies on actual signs or events, suggesting a genetic disease such as miscarriages and stillbirths. With the unreliability exhibited by these methods, scientists have resorted into genetic analysis for detection of genetic diseases. Genetic diseases have their origin in genes and hence study of genes will make it easy to detect. All the same, it has not been easy to analyze genes without Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). PCR enables a small piece of DNA segment to be amplified into millions of copies for analysis and detection of an abnormality (Diaz and Bardelli, 2014, pg. 580). As a result, PCR has proved to be an invaluable technique for the detection of many genetic diseases since it enables the development of diagnostic tests and screening using DNA segments.
PCR is the most vital scientific technology in the area of medicine in the last century. PCR is a simple and cheaper technique for duplicating DNA as compared to previous techniques, making it the best option for all biologists. PCR works with a simple fact; that the genetic material of every living organism is different and the genetic material is contained in the DNA or RNA. Human beings, being complex beings, possess unique sequences of DNA. This unique sequence facilitates the tracing of genetic material back to its origin and identifies precisely the species of the organism. To accomplish this investigation, enough amount of DNA is required, and that is where PCR comes in handy. PCR utilizes the natural function of the polymerase enzymes, which are found in all living organisms and are charged with copying genetic material, proofreading and correctly copying the material. PCR works by characterizing, analyzing, and synthesizing specific parts of DNA. It works on even those complicated mixtures to separate, identify and duplicate a particular bit of DNA or RNA obtained from any part of the body (hair, tissue specimens or blood) (Erlich2015, pg. 126).
It should be noted that through the introduction of the PCR in the late 1970s, the scientists can now study human DNA directly unlike before. They can make a detailed understanding of the genetic variations with greater p...