Shadowing Practice: PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) - Learn English Speaking with Video

Elige un modo de práctica

Cada modo abre una sala de práctica a pantalla completa.

99 oraciones

Si las oraciones son demasiado cortas o largas, haz clic en Editar para ajustarlas.

There are some pieces of technology you really develop an appreciation for.

Maybe it's your phone, your laptop, your drawing tablet, but for me, it is the copy machine.

Oh, the copy machine.

I know it's not possible, but I could promise you that whenever the copy machine was aware of my presence, that's when it decided to malfunction,

especially if it knew I was short on time.

And of course, when it jams, the fancy copy machines will even tell you what is wrong and how to fix it,

but my experience with trying to follow the instructions of fixing the copy machine makes it worse, and then by that point there's a line,

and you feel your heart pounding, and you're embarrassed because now you've jammed it for everyone.

Yeah, so while I've developed an appreciation and respect for the copy machine, I've definitely tried to limit my use of it over the years.

Saves paper anyway.

You may be wondering why is she spending so much time on this?

Well I want to call your attention to a technology, a biotechnology, that works almost like an amazing and fancy copy machine.

Except not for something on paper.

No, it's for DNA.

This biotechnology is PCR.

Polymerase Chain Reaction, or PCR for short.

It provides a way to make more copies of a portion of DNA.

Lots and lots and lots of DNA copies, and this technology does NOT need to happen in a cell either.

In fact, it can happen in a test tube.

And so you may wonder, number one, how does PCR work?

And number two, why?

Why make more copies of some specific portion of DNA?

So let's briefly answer those two questions.

To answer the first question, the how does this work question,

let's talk about what we need first before we get to the steps of how it works.

We need the DNA portion that we want to make copies of, we need some kind of buffer to put it in,

and then we need things that would be necessary to make more copies of the DNA.

So think about what that might mean from our DNA replication video.

We'll need primers.

Recall that primers help DNA polymerase, a building enzyme, know where to go to start its building.

We need DNA polymerase, the building enzyme.

Fun fact, the DNA polymerase used is often a heat -resistant type of DNA polymerase as PCR uses heat.

Typically, the polymerase chosen for the job is tach polymerase, a type of of heat -resistant DNA polymerase.

Tac polymerase is originally from a type of bacteria that can handle and live in really high temperatures in nature, in hot springs.

Pretty cool.

We also need DNA nucleotides for the DNA polymerase to build with.

So we can look at the PCR sequence in three major steps.

We'll illustrate with one double -stranded DNA molecule here, and let's assume this is what we want replicated.

Step 1.

Denaturation.

You've heard that word denature before, right, when we were talking about enzymes?

One way we had talked about denaturing enzymes was using heat.

And heat is what we will use in this step.

This step involves the addition of heat needed to separate the two strands of the DNA molecule.

Step 2.

Annealing.

This word means something a little different in biology.

Basically this is when the two DNA strands

that now have been separated by that heat are going to be cooled and be joined by the primers.

The temperature for this step should allow the primers to bind to the specific segment of DNA that you want to amplify,

which means make copies of.

Step 3.

DNA synthesis.

Remember, synthesis means to make something.

With DNA synthesis, we're going to make more copies of DNA, and to do so, DNA polymerase will begin to work on both of these strands

and it will use the DNA nucleotides as its building material to amplify the DNA.

We should note that the temperature at this step may be a little warmer than the previous step.

It needs to be a temperature that is ideal for the specific DNA polymerase used.

Now after finishing one cycle of this, you have two double -stranded DNA molecules, right?

Similar to how it would be in DNA replication within a cell.

But you can repeat this now, except this time you now have two double -stranded DNA molecules to start with.

So you repeat with the denaturation, annealing, and DNA synthesis steps, now you have four double -stranded DNA molecules.

You repeat the steps again, now you have eight.

And if the process is automated by a machine, which, why yes, they do have in science catalogs, you can actually do this fairly quickly.

Which brings you to, why?

Why do this?

Well, any technology that needs copies of a portion of DNA could find PCR useful, but But we'll just mention two examples in our limited time.

We mentioned DNA fingerprinting in our gel electrophoresis video, and we mentioned that DNA fingerprinting can be part of a crime scene investigation.

Well, in order to have enough copies of DNA samples to run in gel electrophoresis to analyze,

PCR can be performed to make copies of the of the fragments of DNA that are found at a crime scene.

Another example?

Diagnosis of a disease, such as one caused by a virus.

For an especially relevant example, I can mention one of the testing types done for the virus that causes COVID -19.

COVID -19 is a pandemic that we're experiencing right now in 2020.

And the virus that causes COVID -19 is called SARS -CoV -2.

You might have heard of one test type that uses a sample from a nose or throat swab in a PCR test,

but to be more specific, this test for this virus is a real -time reverse transcription PCR test.

The reason it has this fancier reverse transcription in there is

because this virus uses RNA as its genetic material instead of DNA,

and you have to use an enzyme called reverse transcriptase to convert the RNA into DNA.

So before we can do the regular PCR steps we've mentioned, we must convert isolated and purified RNA into DNA.

A specific primer is added that will bind to an area of viral RNA,

and then reverse transcriptase is used to convert viral RNA into cDNA .

Using specific primers and the TAC DNA polymerase,

the cDNA can be copied over and over each cycle in the familiar steps we've been mentioning of PCR.

See the goal is you need enough copies of the viral cDNA in order for it to be detectable.

The idea being if it's a positive result, you have the selective primers binding and you have the TAC DNA polymerase making more

and more copies of the viral cDNA each cycle.

In addition, specific fluorescent probes are also used for identification.

A certain level is needed for identification of a positive result.

And if the virus's genetic material is not present in the sample, then primers wouldn't bind, and there would be no cDNA copies produced.

If you'd like to learn more about this test as far as its limitations

and also its complexity as we're being pretty general here, we've included some further reading suggestions in the video details.

So those were just two examples of how PCR can be used,

but there are many more examples in our suggested further reading links in the video description.

Overall, PCR is such a useful and fascinating technology that will likely remain indispensable for future uses.

It's a rare day when I pull out that word, indispensable.

Well, that's it for the Amoeba Sisters, and we remind you to stay curious.

I'll see you next time.

Descargar app

Todo lo que necesitas para hablar con fluidez

Pronunciación con IAEvalúa cada oración

Práctica de IPADomina cada sonido

VocabularioConstruye tu banco de palabras

Juego de vocabularioAprende mientras juegas

Escanea el QR

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

Mismo canal

Mitosis vs. Meiosis: Side by Side Comparison

Daily ConversationUniversity Students

Stroll Through the Playlist (a Biology Review)

Daily ConversationHigh School Students

Mitosis: The Amazing Cell Process that Uses Division to Multiply! (Older Video 2016 )

IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepUniversity Students

Circulatory System and Pathway of Blood Through the Heart

Cambridge Exam PrepHigh School StudentsUniversity Students

FOR YOU

Recomendar Video

239 oraciones

Vocabulario y notas de pronunciación para esta lección

Las palabras que más se repiten: Dna, Pcr, polymerase, step, copies. Este vídeo tiene 83 frases y 1299 palabras para practicar shadowing. La parte hablada dura 7:30. El hablante habla a un ritmo natural de unas 173 palabras por minuto, cercano a una conversación cotidiana. Solo el 81 % de las palabras está entre las 3.000 más comunes del inglés, por lo que el vocabulario es exigente.

Vocabulario clave de este vídeo

15 palabras del vídeo que vale la pena aprender, con su pronunciación y significado:

Palabra	Pronunciación	Significado
strand sustantivo	/ˈstɹænd/	hebra, filástica
virus sustantivo	/ˈvaɪ.ɹəs/	virus
enzyme sustantivo	/ˈɛn.zaɪm/	enzima
molecule sustantivo	/ˈmɑ.lɪ.kjul/	molécula
viral adjetivo	/ˈvaɪɹəl/	viral, vírico
synthesis sustantivo	/ˈsɪnθəsɪs/	síntesis
fancy sustantivo	/ˈfæn.si/	fantasía, magín
convert verbo	/kənˈvɝt/	convertir
genetic adjetivo	/d͡ʒəˈnɛt.ɪk/	genético
identification sustantivo	/aɪˌdɛn(t)ɪfɪˈkeɪʃn̩/	identificación
jam sustantivo	/ˈd͡ʒæm/	atasco, atascadero
resistant adjetivo	/ɹəˈzɪstənt/	resistente
curious adjetivo	/ˈkjʊɹ.i.əs/	curioso, tener curiosidad
ideal adjetivo	/aɪˈdi(ə)l/	ideal, idóneo
remind verbo	/ɹəˈmaɪnd/	(hacer) recordar/arrecordar, hacer acordar/arrecordar (se de)

Phrasal verbs que vas a escuchar

Palabra	Significado
pull out verbo	retirarse

Frases que vale la pena repetir

Frases cortas y completas del vídeo que puedes reutilizar en la conversación diaria:

You’ve heard that word “denature” before, right?
When we were talking about enzymes?
Which brings you to…why?

Gramática en este vídeo

Las estructuras que más usa el hablante, con las palabras exactas del vídeo:

Estructura	En el vídeo
Voz pasiva be + participio pasado — importa lo que ocurre, no quién lo hace	have been separated · is automated · can be performed
Present perfect have/has + participio pasado — una acción pasada que sigue importando ahora	you've jammed · I've developed · You've heard

Pronunciación a tener en cuenta

El hablante usa 16 contracciones y formas reducidas, como we'll, we're, we've. Dilas en su forma corta, tal como las oyes.

Los sonidos de “th”: synthesis /ˈsɪnθəsɪs/, throat /ˈθɹoʊt/
Los sonidos de “sh” y “zh”: identification /aɪˌdɛn(t)ɪfɪˈkeɪʃn̩/, appreciation /əˌpɹiː.ʃiˈeɪ.ʃən/, transcription /tɹænˈskɹɪpʃən/, suggestion /səˈd͡ʒɛst.ʃən/, instruction /ɪnˈstɹʌkʃən/
Palabras largas — cuida el acento: identification /aɪˌdɛn(t)ɪfɪˈkeɪʃn̩/, appreciation /əˌpɹiː.ʃiˈeɪ.ʃən/, biology /baɪˈɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/, complexity /kəmˈplɛk.sɪ.ti/, limitation /lɪmɪˈteɪʃən/

Sonidos difíciles para hispanohablantes:

s + consonante al inicio — sin añadir una “e” delante: strand /ˈstɹænd/, swab /swɒb/
/v/ — no es /b/: los dientes tocan el labio inferior: virus /ˈvaɪ.ɹəs/, reverse /ɹɪˈvɝs/, viral /ˈvaɪɹəl/, convert /kənˈvɝt/, involve /ɪnˈvɑlv/
/z/ — sonora, no /s/: enzyme /ˈɛn.zaɪm/, resistant /ɹəˈzɪstənt/, analyze /ˈæn.əˌlaɪz/

Cómo practicar con este vídeo

Escucha el vídeo entero una vez sin hablar y anota las palabras que no conoces.
Empieza a velocidad 0,75×, haz shadowing frase por frase y vuelve a la velocidad normal cuando te resulte fácil.
Grábate y compara con el original, prestando atención a palabras como strand, virus, enzyme.

¿Qué es la Técnica de Shadowing?

Shadowing es una técnica de aprendizaje de idiomas respaldada por la ciencia, desarrollada originalmente para la formación de intérpretes profesionales y popularizada por el políglota Dr. Alexander Arguelles. El método es simple pero poderoso: escuchas audio en inglés nativo y lo repites en voz alta de inmediato, como una sombra que sigue al hablante con solo 1-2 segundos de retraso. A diferencia de la escucha pasiva o los ejercicios de gramática, el shadowing obliga a tu cerebro y músculos de la boca a procesar y reproducir simultáneamente patrones de habla reales. Las investigaciones muestran que mejora significativamente la precisión de la pronunciación, la entonación, el ritmo, el habla conectada, la comprensión auditiva y la fluidez al hablar, convirtiéndola en una de las metodologías más efectivas para la preparación del IELTS Speaking y la comunicación en inglés en el mundo real.

Técnica de shadowing: lee la guía completa paso a paso →

Shadowing Practice: PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) - Learn English Speaking with Video

Elige un modo de práctica

Descargar app

Endocrine System

Mitosis vs. Meiosis: Side by Side Comparison

Stroll Through the Playlist (a Biology Review)

Mitosis: The Amazing Cell Process that Uses Division to Multiply! (Older Video 2016 )

Circulatory System and Pathway of Blood Through the Heart

4 How to use PCR and qPCR

Mental Debugging: How to Build Resilience After Failure

Structure and Function of a Prokaryotic Cell (Bacteria)

phienma

The Semiconductor Production Process Explained Clearly

Explanation of Vaccine Adjuvants

Bioprocessing Part 1: Fermentation

Can We Live Forever? – A Question of Science with Brian Cox

Antimycobacterials | Anti-TB Drugs

Phonetics and Phonology: Introduction

I Tested The Viral Reverse Engineering Repo

How did life begin? Abiogenesis. Origin of life from nonliving matter.