Kary Mullis and the PCR: Three Decades of Innovation

Thirty years ago, in 1983, Kary B. Mullis conceived an experimental method for amplifying small quantities of DNA— the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)—that would go on to revolutionize the study of genetics, forensics, and biological anthropology. Over three decades, PCR techniques, fueled by advances in enzymology and automation, have continually improved and evolved to meet the changing needs and demands of life-science researchers.

Today, armed with an arsenal of potent reagents, reliable software, and robust instrumentation, PCR will be a vital part of new applications of next-generation sequencing, clinical diagnostics, and drug discovery. (Read more ... from The Scientist)

Kary Mullis' Eureka Moment
Prepared by  NobelPrize.Org

The Inventor. KARY B. MULLIS received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1966, and he earned a PhD degree in biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1972. Mullis joined the Cetus Corporation in Emeryville, California, as a DNA chemist in 1979. During his 7 years there, he conducted research on oligonucleotide synthesis and invented the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). He is currently chief scientific officer of Altermune Technologies, Ltd, working on a method for pharmaceutically redirecting a ubiquitous human immunity intended for a trisaccharide known as the alpha-Gal epitope to some other site to which the patient could benefit from an immediate immunity. For his invention of the polymerase chain reaction, Mullis received the 1993 Nobel Prize in chemistry and the 1993 Japan Prize.


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The PCR Timeline
As a tribute to the discovery of the PCR, Bio-Rad Laboratories had developed an infographic highlighting many important milestones in the PCR's Timeline. The file is free and available for download in PDF format.

Download this INFOGRAPHIC in PDF.

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