Further, the Academy awards the CDC for forensic implementation. The CDC developed the PulseNet program to help investigate and prevent outbreaks of foodborne illness by sharing information about the problem bacteria quickly.
Bacteria replicate themselves by dividing in two.
When a bacterium divides, the two daughter bacteria have the same genetic makeup as the parent bacterium, like identical twins. The DNA that has been cut in pieces is placed at one end of the gel. A pulsing electric field applied across the gel drives the DNA pieces across the gel over a period of hours. The smallest pieces slip through the sieve more quickly, so the pieces are separated as distinct bands on the gel. These laboratories will be able to submit new patterns to the national database online and obtain epidemiologic information associated with patterns in the database.