Definition of Amplification

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Amplification: Making multiple copies of a gene or of any sequence of DNA. Repeated copying of a piece of DNA.

In amplification there is an increase in the number of copies of any particular piece of DNA. Gene amplification plays a role in cancer cells. A tumor cell amplifies, or copies, DNA segments as a result of cell signals and sometimes environmental events.

Amplification can occur in vivo (in the living individual) or in vitro (literally "in glass", or in a plastic vessel in the laboratory).

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