An important piece of information in the management of a person infected with a chronic virus such as HIV is his/her "viral load" or how many virus particles can be detected. If before PCR, a patient had a viral load of 1.6 x 104 viral particles. What would be the amount of DNA in the sample after the completion of the first PCR cycle?

the answer is 3.2 x 10⁴

Explanation:

The Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is a technique widely used in molecular biology to exponentially amplify a specific DNA sample from a small amount of DNA. For this purpose, the PCR technique uses: 1- a DNA polymerase enzyme in order to synthesize new DNA copies and 2- one pair of DNA oligonucleotides (primers) which are complementary to the ends of the target DNA sequence. During each round of PCR, the double-stranded DNA template is unwound and each strand is used to synthesize a new DNA strand, thereby forming two new double-stranded DNA molecules. In consequence, each round of PCR doubles the amount of DNA.

scientists have discovered that hiv does not cause aids by the virus's direct effect on the host's immune cells, but rather through the cells' lethal influence on one another. researchers from the gladstone institutes have revealed that hiv does not cause aids by the virus's