Kary Mullis

Kary Banks Mullis was a quirky American biochemist simultaneously known both for his invention of the Polymerase Chain Reaction and his use of psychedelic drugs. Having received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1993, he was further awarded the Japan Prize for original and outstanding achievements in science, in the same year. He completed his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in the field of Biochemistry, wherein he worked on the synthesis and structure of bacterial ion transport molecules. Furthermore, he had also published a paper in the highly reputed journal, Nature, in the field of Astrophysics when he was a graduate student. Dr. Kary Mullis led a rather unconventional career in Science wherein he interspersed his research by leaving to write fiction, start multiple businesses, and even to manage a bakery during his postdoctoral research. He is a prime example of how there isn’t a defined path for success and one must do whatever makes them happiest whenever they want to do it.

The Polymerase Chain reaction, more commonly known as the PCR, is a technique that is used for the amplification of selected portions of DNA. This method has allowed us to multiply small amounts of DNA to about millions and billions of copies through a controlled process of 3 fixed steps. These steps include an initial denaturing step to separate the two strands of dsDNA. Following this, specific primers are then annealed to target sequences that form the basis for extension and synthesis of a new strand of DNA resulting in two copies of the initial sample. This process is then repeated multiple times, to yield largely amplified amounts of the sequence of interest.