Kary mullis nobel prize speech
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Kary Banks Mullis, Nobel Prize winning chemist, was born on December 28, 1944, in Lenoir, North Carolina.
He received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1966. He earned a Ph.D. degree in biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1972 and lectured in biochemistry there until 1973. That year, Dr. Mullis became a postdoctoral fellow in pediatric cardiology at the University of Kansas Medical School, with emphasis in the areas of angiotensin and pulmonary vascular physiology. In 1977 he began two years of postdoctoral work in pharmaceutical chemistry at the University of California, San Francisco.
Dr. Mullis joined the Cetus Corporation in Emeryville, California, as a DNA chemist in 1979. During his seven years there, he conducted research on oligonucleotide synthesis and invented the polymerase chain reaction.
In 1986, he was named director of molecular biology at Xytronyx, Inc. in San Diego, where his work was concentrated in DNA technology and photochemistry. In 1987 began consulting on nucleic acid chemistry
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The eccentric scientist behind the ‘gold standard’ COVID-19 test
Mullis was known for his eccentric ideas, many of which had basic biology mistakes according to his colleagues, so people initially either didn’t think it would work or didn’t care. But Mullis kept tinkering with the idea, and the following year he was able to bring them some experimental data that seemed to show the chain reaction was working. This caught the attention of several Cetus colleagues, especially biochemist Thomas White.
“I thought, Hmm, it could be bullshit, but he might actually be right,” White says. “And if he is right, it'll transform what we're trying to do here.”
Making PCR work
White had had a soft spot for Mullis ever since they’d became close friends in graduate school at UC Berkeley. Mullis helped White rebuild his car engine and ordained White as a Universal Life minister. White returned the favor by presiding over Mullis’s wedding to his second wife. White had recruited Mullis to work at Cetus and ended up being his boss, helping diffuse tensions when Mullis’s ego would grate
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Kary B. Mullis
The polymerase chain reaction, which was devised by Kary Mullis, has revolutionized DNA technology. It has had a major impact on molecular biology, medicine, forensics, molecular paleontology, and many related fields.
PCR amplifies specific DNA sequences from very small amounts of complex genetic material. The amplification produces an almost unlimited number of highly purified DNA molecules suitable for analysis or manipulation. PCR has allowed screening for genetic and infectious diseases. Analysis of DNAs from different populations, including DNA from extinct species, has allowed the reconstruction of phylogenetic trees including primates and humans. PCR is essential to forensics and paternity testing.
Mullis was born in Lenoir, North Carolina and grew up in Columbia, South Carolina. He received a B.S. from Georgia Tech and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. While working for Cetus Corporation, he invented PCR, which immediately spread to laboratories around the world where DNA chemistry was performed. PCR technology has grown into a seve
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