Kary B. Mullis
Facts
Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.
Kary B. Mullis
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1993
Born: 28 December 1944, Lenoir, NC, USA
Died: 7 August 2019, Newport Beach, CA, USA
Prize motivation: “for his invention of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method”
Prize share: 1/2
Work
An organism's genome is stored inside DNA molecules, but analyzing this genetic information requires quite a large amount of DNA. In 1985, Kary Mullis invented the process known as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), in which a small amount of DNA can be copied in large quantities over a short period of time. By applying heat, the DNA molecule's two strands are separated and the DNA building blocks that have been added are bonded to each strand. With the help of the enzyme DNA polymerase, new DNA chains are formed and the process can then be repeated. PCR has been of major importance in both medical research and forensic science.
Nobel Prizes and laureates
Six prizes were awarded for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. The 12 laureates' work and discoveries range from proteins' structures and machine learning to fighting for a world free of nuclear weapons.
See them all presented here.
