Imagine an amplifier powerful enough to convert the inaudible whir of butterfly wings into a mighty roar. That's what a new tool called PCR routinely does to the most infinitesimal snippets of DNA, the molecule that carries the genetic blueprint for all living things. Within the space of a few hours, an unprepossessing aluminum box stuffed with test tubes can create a billion copies of what started out as a single strip of DNA. A dividing cancer cell would take at least a month to perform the same stupendous feat. "This technique," marvels Dr. Harley Rotbart, a microbiologist at the University...
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