The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. 2002.
gel electrophoresis
(i-lek-toh-fuh-REE-sis) A technique used in DNA fingerprinting and other processes in which large molecules are to be identified. Fragments of DNA are placed in a semiporous gel, and an electrical field is turned on. The fragments move in response to the field, with smaller fragments generally moving faster. After a time, the fragments have separated enough to form a series of separated lines like a bar code that characterizes the DNA.
