"[No one has] affected the current good or the future welfare of mankind as much as Kary Mullis."
Ted Koppel, on ABC's "Nightline"
Kary Mullis (b. 1944) was working at Cetus Corporation in Emeryville, California, in 1985 when he worked out a way to duplicate a single piece of DNA into as many copies as were wanted. The technology that resulted from his idea was named polymerase chain reaction, or PCR. The technique could be done in a test tube with the aid of enzymes and temperature changes.
After overcoming initial challenges in the laboratory, PCR took off as a huge technological advance in the study of molecular biology. Previously, 5,000 papers had been published on the subject. Not only did the technology provide scientists with a seemingly unlimited amount of DNA derived from something as small as a single strand, it also sped up the process by which they could analyze, clone, and modify DNA. Cetus eventually sold the technology to LaRoche for $300,000,000.
The uses of PCR today seem endless. Among many other applications, the technique is used to diagnose diseases, detect bacteria and viruses, amplify DNA from ancient fossils, analyze DNA for criminal cases, and compare DNA from different species. A profound and influential invention, PCR stands out as one of the most important innovations of our time. Few inventions have had the widespread impact of Kary Mullis's polymerase chain reaction.
