Question

How is the process of PCR similar to DNA replication in your own cells?

Answer 1

A common laboratory technique used to make several copies of a specific region of DNA is polymerase chain reaction (PCR). This area of DNA could be something in which the experimenter is involved.

Complete answer:
PCR requires a DNA polymerase enzyme, like DNA replication in an organism, that makes new strands of DNA, using existing strands as templates. Usually used in PCR, the DNA polymerase is called Taq polymerase, after the heat resistant bacterium from which it was isolated (Thermus aquaticus). In hot springs and hydrothermal vents, Thermus aquaticus works.
The purpose of PCR is usually to render enough of the target DNA region that it can be analysed or used in some other way. For instance, for further studies, DNA amplified by PCR can be sent for sequencing, visualised by gel electrophoresis, or cloned into a plasmid.
Taq polymerase, like other DNA polymerases, can only make DNA if a primer, a short nucleotide sequence that provides a starting point for DNA synthesis, is provided. The experimenter decides the area of DNA in a PCR reaction that will be copied, or amplified, by the primers she or he selects.
PCR primers, typically about 20 nucleotides in length, are small fragments of single-stranded DNA. In each PCR reaction, two primers are used, and they are designed to flank the target area.
That is, sequences are given that will make them bind to opposite strands of the DNA template, just at the edges of the area that is to be copied. By complementary base pairing, the primers bind to the prototype. They can be expanded by polymerase when the primers are attached to the template, and the area between them will be copied.

Note: It is possible to amplify a DNA sequence millions or billions of times using PCR, creating enough DNA copies to be studied using other techniques. For instance, gel electrophoresis can visualise the DNA, submit it for sequencing, or digest it with restriction enzymes and clone it into a plasmid. In several academic laboratories, PCR is used and it has practical uses in forensics, genetic testing and diagnostics as well.