Making PCR

Making PCR is the fascinating, behind-the-scenes account of the invention of one of the most significant biotech discoveries of our time - the polymerase chain reaction. Skillfully blending narrative description and interviews with all the major players, Paul Rabinow explores what it means to be a "scientist" today, the effects of doing science in the high-risk, high-reward environment of biotech, and what a scientific discovery or invention is at a time when it is possible to patent life itself.

PCR has profoundly transformed the practices and potential of molecular biology by extending scientists' ability to identify and manipulate genetic material. It facilitates the identification of precise segments of DNA and accurately reproduces millions of copies of the given segment in a short period of time. In sum, Making PCR shows how a contingently assembled practice emerged, composed of distinctive subjects, the site in which they worked, and the object they invented.