Thermal cyclers, also known as PCR machines, are laboratory devices used to amplify DNA segments through the process of polymerase chain reaction (PCR). These machines precisely control temperature cycles, allowing DNA denaturation, annealing, and extension to occur repeatedly, resulting in the exponential replication of a target DNA sequence.
Thermal cyclers are widely used in molecular biology, genetics, forensic science, and medical diagnostics for tasks like cloning, gene expression analysis, and disease detection. Their ability to quickly and accurately replicate DNA makes them invaluable for research, clinical diagnostics, and biotechnological applications.