home0004 - Dr. Kary Banks Mullis (born 1944)

Dr. Kary Banks Mullis (born 1944)

Wikipedia 🌐 Kary Mullis

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Dr. Joshua Lederberg (born 1925)
- - Saved PDF : [HP00CH][GDrive][DOI:10.1038/scientificamerican0490-56] ( 1990 - Scientific American : "The Unusual Origin of the Polymerase Chain Reaction ; A surprisingly simple method for making unlimited copies of DNA fragments was conceived under unlikely circumstances-during a moonlit drive through the mountains of California" by Kary B. Mullis) : "In the spring of 1984, while working on the patent, I presented a poster describing the PCR at the annual Cetus Scientific Meeting. [...]. Yet nobody seemed to be interested in my poster, and I felt increasingly anxious. [...] Finally, I noticed Joshua Lederberg, president of the Rockefeller University, nearby, and I snared him into looking at my results. Josh looked the poster over carefully and then turned his enormous head, the Nobel-laureated head, the head that had deduced in 1946 that bacteria could have sexual intercourse. "Does it work?" He seemed amused. Pleased, I confirmed that it did, and we talked for a long time. At one point he mentioned that about 20 years previously, after Kornberg had discovered DNA polymerase, the two of them had considered the notion that the enzyme could somehow be harnessed to make large quantities of DNA.They had not figured out exactly how to do it, however. I reminded him that oligonucleotides were not readily available at that time and that there was hardly any DNA sequence information either. But he looked back at my poster with an expression that I have almost come to expect. I think that Josh, after seeing the utter simplicity of the PCR, was perhaps the first person to feel what is now an almost universal first response to it among molecular biologists and other DNA workers." )
Dr. John Craig Venter (born 1946) - .. .
...

ASSOCIATIONS - Companies and Institutions

Cetus Corporation ( ... )

Saved Wikipedia (Nov 20, 2021) - "Kary Mullis"

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Born : Kary Banks Mullis on December 28, 1944 in Lenoir, North Carolina, U.S.
Died : August 7, 2019 (aged 74) in Newport Beach, California, U.S.[1]
Nationality : American
Alma mater :
Georgia Institute of Technology (BS, 1966)
University of California, Berkeley (PhD, 1973)
Known for : Invention of polymerase chain reaction
Awards "
- - William Allan Award (1990)
  - Robert Koch Prize (1992)
  - Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1993)
  - Japan Prize (1993)[2]
Scientific career
- - Fields : Molecular biology
  - Thesis : Schizokinen: structure and synthetic work (1973)
  - Doctoral advisor : J. B. Neilands

Kary Banks Mullis (December 28, 1944 – August 7, 2019) was an American biochemist. In recognition of his role in the invention of the polymerase chain reaction(PCR) technique, he shared the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Michael Smith [3]and was awarded the Japan Prize in the same year. PCR became a central technique in biochemistry and molecular biology, described by The New York Times as "highly original and significant, virtually dividing biology into the two epochs of before PCR and after PCR."[4]

Mullis attracted controversy for denying humans' role in climate change and for expressing doubts that HIV causes AIDS.[5][1][6]

Early life

Mullis was born in Lenoir, North Carolina, near the Blue Ridge Mountains,[7] on December 28, 1944. His family had a background in farming in this rural area. As a child, Mullis said, he was interested in observing organisms in the countryside.[8] He grew up in Columbia, South Carolina,[8] where he attended Dreher High School,[9]graduating in the class of 1962. His interest in chemistry started when he learned how to chemically synthesize and build solid fuel propulsion rockets as a high school student during the 1950s.[10]

He earned a B.S. in chemistry [7] from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta in 1966, during which time he married his first wife and started a business.[11] He earned his Ph.D. in 1973 in biochemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, in J. B. Neilands' laboratory, which focused on synthesis and structure of bacterial iron transporter molecules.[12] Although he published a sole-author paper in Nature in the field of astrophysics in 1968, he struggled to pass his oral exams (with a colleague recalling that "He didn’t get his propositions right. He didn’t know general biochemistry"), and his dissertation was only accepted after several friends pitched in to "cut all the whacko stuff out of it" while his advisor lobbied the committee to reconsider its initial decision. Mullis himself believed that it was the Nature article that greased the wheels with the committee.[13][14]

His doctoral dissertation was on the structure of the bacterial siderophore schizokinen (“Schizokinen: Structure and Synthetic Work”).[15] J.B. Neilands was known for his groundbreaking work on siderophores, and Mullis was a part of that with his characterization of schizokinen.[16] Following his graduation, Mullis completed postdoctoral fellowships in pediatric cardiology at the University of Kansas Medical Center (1973-1977) and pharmaceutical chemistry at the University of California, San Francisco (1977-1979).[17]

Career

After receiving his doctorate, Mullis briefly left science to write fiction before accepting the University of Kansas fellowship.[11] During his postdoctoral work, he managed a bakery for two years.[4] Mullis returned to science at the encouragement of Berkeley friend and colleague Thomas White, who secured Mullis' UCSF position and later helped Mullis land a position with the biotechnology company [Cetus Corporation] of Emeryville, California.[8][4] Despite little experience in molecular biology, Mullis worked as a DNA chemist at Cetus for seven years, ultimately serving as head of the DNA synthesis lab under White, then the firm's director of molecular and biological research; it was there, in 1983, that Mullis invented the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) procedure.[18]

Mullis acquired a reputation for erratic behavior at Cetus, once threatening to bring a gun to work; he also engaged in "public lovers' quarrels" with his then-girlfriend (a fellow chemist at the company) and "nearly came to blows with another scientist" at a staff party.[13]According to White, "It definitely put me in a tough spot. His behavior was so outrageous that the other scientists thought that the only reason I didn't fire him outright was that he was a friend of mine."[13]

After resigning from Cetus in 1986, Mullis served as director of molecular biology for Xytronyx, Inc. in San Diego for two years. While inventing a UV-sensitive ink at Xytronyx, he became skeptical of the existence of the ozone hole.

Thereafter, Mullis worked intermittently as a consultant for multiple corporations and institutions on nucleic acid chemistry and as an expert witness specializing in DNA profiling.[17][4] While writing a National Institutes of Health grant progress report on the development of a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) test for Specialty Labs, he became skeptical that HIV was the cause of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).[19] In 1992, Mullis founded a business to sell pieces of jewelry containing the amplified DNA of deceased famous people such as Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe.[20][21] That year, he also founded Atomic Tags in La Jolla, California. The venture sought to develop technology using atomic-force microscopy and bar-coded antibodies tagged with heavy metals to create highly multiplexed, parallel immunoassays.

Mullis was a member of the USA Science and Engineering Festival's Advisory Board.[22] In 2014, he was named a distinguished researcher at the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute in Oakland, California.[23]

PCR and other inventions

Main articles: Taq Polymerase and History of polymerase chain reaction

In 1983, Mullis was working for Cetus Corporation as a chemist.[11] As Mullis told it, while driving in the vicinity of his country home in Mendocino County with his girlfriend, who also was a chemist at Cetus, he had the idea to use a pair of primers to bracket the desired DNA sequence and to copy it using DNA polymerase; a technique that would allow rapid amplification of a small stretch of DNA and become a standard procedure in molecular biology laboratories.[11] Longtime professional benefactor and supervisor Thomas White reassigned Mullis from his usual projects to concentrate on PCR full-time after the technique was met with skepticism by their colleagues.[11][13] Mullis succeeded in demonstrating PCR on December 16, 1985, but the staff remained circumspect as he continued to produce ambiguous results amid alleged methodological problems, including a perceived lack of "appropriate controls and repetition."[11][13] In his Nobel Prize lecture, he remarked that the December 16 breakthrough did not make up for his girlfriend breaking up with him: "I was sagging as I walked out to my little silver Honda Civic. Neither [assistant] Fred, empty Beck's bottles, nor the sweet smell of the dawn of the age of PCR could replace Jenny. I was lonesome."[11]

Other Cetus scientists who were regarded as "top-notch experimentalists",[13] including Randall Saiki, Henry Erlich, and Norman Arnheim, were placed on parallel PCR projects to work on determining if PCR could amplify a specific human gene (betaglobin) from genomic DNA. Saiki generated the needed data and Erlich authored the first paper to include utilization of the technique,[4] while Mullis was still working on the paper that would describe PCR itself.[11] Mullis' 1985 paper with Saiki and Erlich, "Enzymatic Amplification of β-globin Genomic Sequences and Restriction Site Analysis for Diagnosis of Sickle Cell Anemia" — the polymerase chain reaction invention (PCR) — was honored by a Citation for Chemical Breakthrough Award from the Division of History of Chemistry of the American Chemical Society in 2017.[24][25]

A drawback of the technique was that the DNA polymerase in the reaction was destroyed by the high heat used at the start of each replication cycle and had to be replaced. In 1986, Saiki started to use Thermophilus aquaticus (Taq) DNA polymerase to amplify segments of DNA. The Taq polymerase was heat resistant and only needed to be added to the reaction once, making the technique dramatically more affordable and subject to automation. This modification of Mullis' invention revolutionized biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, medicine, and forensics. According to University of California, Berkeley biologist David Bilder, "PCR revolutionized everything. It really superpowered molecular biology—which then transformed other fields, even distant ones like ecology and evolution. … It’s impossible to overstate PCR’s impact. The ability to generate as much DNA of a specific sequence as you want, starting from a few simple chemicals and some temperature changes—it’s just magical."[13] Although he received a $10,000 bonus from Cetus for the invention, the company's later sale of the patent to Roche Molecular Systems for $300 million would lead Mullis to condemn White and members of the parallel team as "vultures."[11][13]

Mullis also invented a UV-sensitive plastic that changes color in response to light.

He founded Altermune LLC in 2011 to pursue new ideas on the immune system.[26] Mullis described the company's novel technology in a presentation:

It is a method using specific synthetic chemical linkers to divert an immune response from its nominal target to something completely different which you would right now like to be temporarily immune to. Let's say you just got exposed to a new strain of the flu. You're already immune to alpha-1,3-galactosyl-galactose bonds. All humans are. Why not divert a fraction of those antibodies to the influenza strain you just picked up? A chemical linker synthesized with an alpha-1,3-gal-gal bond on one end and a DNA aptamer devised to bind specifically to the strain of influenza you have on the other end will link anti-alpha-Gal antibodies to the influenza virus and presto!--you have fooled your immune system into attacking the new virus.[7][27]

In a TED Talk, Mullis describes how the US Government paid $500,000 for Mullis to use this new technology against Anthrax, which worked. The treatment was 100% effective, compared to the previous Anthrax treatment which was 40% effective.[27]

Another proof-of-principle of this technology, re-targeting pre-existing antibodies to the surface of a pathogenic strep bacteria using an alpha-gal modified aptamer ("alphamer"), was published in 2015 in collaboration with scientists at the University of California, San Diego.[28][29] Mullis was inspired to fight this particular strep bacteria because it had killed his friend.[27]

Accreditation of the PCR technique

A concept similar to that of PCR had been described before Mullis' work. Nobel laureate H. Gobind Khorana and Kjell Kleppe, a Norwegian scientist, authored a paper 17 years earlier describing a process they termed "repair replication" in the Journal of Molecular Biology.[30] Using repair replication, Kleppe duplicated and then quadrupled a small synthetic molecule with the help of two primers and DNA polymerase. The method developed by Mullis used repeated thermal cycling, which allowed the rapid and exponential amplification of large quantities of any desired DNA sequence from an extremely complex template. Later a heat-stable DNA polymerase was incorporated into the process.

His co-workers at Cetus, who were embittered by his abrupt departure from the company,[11] contested that Mullis was solely responsible for the idea of using Taq polymerase in PCR. However, other scientists have written that the "full potential [of PCR] was not realized" until Mullis' work in 1983,[31] and that Mullis' colleagues failed to see the potential of the technique when he presented it to them.[20] As a result, some controversy surrounds the balance of credit that should be given to Mullis versus the team at Cetus.[4] In practice, credit has accrued to both the inventor and the company (although not its individual workers) in the form of a Nobel Prize and a $10,000 Cetus bonus for Mullis and $300 million for Cetus when the company sold the patent to Roche Molecular Systems. After DuPont lost out to Roche on that sale, the company unsuccessfully disputed Mullis' patent on the alleged grounds that PCR had been previously described in 1971.[11] Mullis and Erlich took Cetus' side in the case, and Khorana refused to testify for DuPont; the jury upheld Mullis' patent in 1991.[11] However, in February 1999, the patent of Hoffman-La Roche (United States Patent No. 4,889,818) was found by the courts to be unenforceable, after Dr. Thomas Kunkel testified in the case Hoffman-La Roche v. Promega Corporation[32] on behalf of the defendants (Promega Corporation) that "prior art" (i.e. articles on the subject of Taq polymerase published by other groups prior to the work of Gelfand and Stoffel, and their patent application regarding the purification of Taq polymerase) existed, in the form of two articles, published by Alice Chien et al. in 1976,[33] and A. S. Kaledin et al. in 1980.[34]

The anthropologist Paul Rabinow wrote a book on the history of the PCR method in 1996 (titled Making PCR) in which he discussed whether Mullis "invented" PCR or "merely" came up with the concept of it. Rabinow, a Foucault scholar interested in issues of the production of knowledge, used the topic to argue against the idea that scientific discovery is the product of individual work, writing, "Committees and science journalists like the idea of associating a unique idea with a unique person, the lone genius. PCR is thought by some to be an example of teamwork, but by others as the genius of one who was smart enough to put things together which were present to all, but overlooked. For Mullis, the light bulb went off, but for others it did not. This is consistent with the idea, that the prepared (educated) mind who is careful to observe and not overlook, is what separates the genius scientist from his many also smart scientists. The proof is in the fact that the person who has the light bulb go off never forgets the "Ah!" experience, while the others never had this photochemical reaction go off in their brains."[35]

Views on HIV/AIDS and climate change

Mullis was quoted saying "the never-ending quest for more grants and staying with established dogmas" has hurt science.[11] He believed that "science is being practiced by people who are dependent on being paid for what they are going to find out," not for what they actually produce.[11]

Mullis wrote that he began to question the AIDS consensus while writing a NIH grant progress report and being unable to find a peer-reviewed reference that HIV was the cause of AIDS.[19][36] He published an alternative hypothesis for AIDS in 1994,[37] and questioned the scientific validity of the link between HIV and AIDS, leading some[who?] to label him an AIDS denialist.[38][39] Mullis has been criticized[by whom?] for his association with HIV skeptic Peter Duesberg,[40] claiming that AIDS is an arbitrary diagnosis used when HIV antibodies are found in a patient's blood.[41] Seth Kalichman, AIDS researcher and author of Denying AIDS, lists Mullis "among the who's who of AIDS pseudoscientists".[42] In 2006, Mullis wrote the foreword to the book What If Everything You Thought You Knew About AIDS Was Wrong? by Christine Maggiore,[36] an HIV-positive AIDS denialist whose 3-year-old daughter died of AIDS-related pneumonia in 2005, and who died herself of an AIDS-related illness in 2008.[43] A 2007 article in Skeptical Inquirerdescribed Mullis as an "AIDS denialist with scientific credentials [who] has never done any scientific research on HIV or AIDS".[44]However, he consulted for Specialty Labs in Santa Monica, developing a nucleic acid-based HIV test.[citation needed] According to California Magazine, Mullis' HIV skepticism influenced Thabo Mbeki's denialist policymaking throughout his tenure as president of South Africa from 1999 to 2008, contributing to as many as 330,000 unnecessary deaths.[13] In 2010, Mullis gave a talk at Google at which he was asked about his controversial views on AIDS and HIV. Mullis said "I'm come to the conclusion... that the thing that causes AIDS is not a species of the retroviridae, it's the whole genus. The people who get sick have a whole lot of different versions...that's my feeling."[45]

A 2007 New York Times article listed Mullis as one of several scientists who, after success in their area of research, go on to make unfounded, sometimes bizarre statements in other areas.[46] In his 1998 humorous autobiography proclaiming his maverick viewpoint, Mullis expressed disagreement with the scientific evidence supporting climate change and ozone depletion, the evidence that HIV causes AIDS, and asserted his belief in astrology.[19][47] Mullis claimed climate change and HIV/AIDS theories were promulgated as a form of racketeering by environmentalists, government agencies, and scientists attempting to preserve their careers and earn money, rather than scientific evidence.[19] The medical and scientific consensus considers these hypotheses as pseudoscience, HIV having been conclusively proven to be the cause of AIDS[48][49] and global warming strongly shown to be caused by human activities.[50][51][52]

Use of hallucinogens

Mullis practiced clandestine chemistry throughout his graduate studies, specializing in the synthesis of LSD; according to White, "I knew he was a good chemist because he'd been synthesizing hallucinogenic drugs at Berkeley."[13] He detailed his experiences synthesizing and testing various psychedelic amphetamines and a difficult trip on DET in his autobiography.[19] In a Q&A interview published in the September 1994 issue of California Monthly, Mullis said, "Back in the 1960s and early 1970s I took plenty of LSD. A lot of people were doing that in Berkeley back then. And I found it to be a mind-opening experience. It was certainly much more important than any courses I ever took."[53][verification needed] During a symposium held for centenarian Albert Hofmann, Hofmann said Mullis had told him that LSD had "helped him develop the polymerase chain reaction that helps amplify specific DNA sequences".[54]

Personal life

Mullis was a surfer [55] and played the guitar. He married four times[11] and had a total of three children by two of his wives. At the time of his death, he had two grandchildren and was survived by his fourth wife, Nancy Cosgrove Mullis. Mullis died at the age of 74 from complication of pneumonia [1][13][56] on August 7, 2019, at his home in Newport Beach, California.[1][57]

Selected publications

Mullis, Kary (1968). "Cosmological Significance of Time Reversal". Nature. 218 (5142): 663–664. Bibcode:1968Natur.218..663M. doi:10.1038/218663b0. S2CID 4151884.
Mullis, K.F.; Faloona, F.; Scharf, S.; Saiki, R.; Horn, G.; Erlich, H. (1986). "Specific enzymatic amplification of DNA in vitro: The polymerase chain reaction". Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology. 51: 263–273. doi:10.1101/sqb.1986.051.01.032. PMID 3472723.
Mullis, Kary B. (April 1990). "The Unusual Origin of the Polymerase Chain Reaction". Scientific American. 262 (4): 56–65. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0490-56. PMID 2315679.
The Polymerase Chain Reaction, 1994, co-edited with Francious Ferre and Richard A. Gibbs (Basel: Birkhauser) ISBN 0-8176-3750-8 ISBN 978-0-8176-3750-7.
Mullis, Kary B. (1995). "A hypothetical disease of the immune system that may bear some relation to the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome". Genetica. 95 (1–3): 195–197. doi:10.1007/BF01435010. PMID 7744261. S2CID 28158163.
Mullis' humorous 1998 autobiography Dancing Naked in the Mind Field (ISBN 978-0-679-77400-6) gives his account of the commercial development of PCR, as well as providing insights into his opinions and experiences. In the book, Mullis chronicles his romantic relationships, use of LSD, synthesis and self-testing of novel psychoactive substances, belief in astrology and an encounter with an extraterrestrial in the form of a fluorescent raccoon.[third-party source needed]

Awards and honors

1990: William Allan Memorial Award of the American Society of Human Genetics,[58] Preis Biochemische Analytik of the German Society of Clinical Chemistry and Boehringer Mannheim [59]
1991: National Biotechnology Award,[60] Gairdner Award,[60] R&D Scientist of the Year,[60] John Scott Award of the City Trusts of Philadelphia [61]
1992: California Scientist of the Year Award[60]
1992: Robert Koch Prize [62]
1993: Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Japan Prize,[2] Thomas A. Edison Award[60]
1994: Honorary degree of Doctor of Science from the University of South Carolina [23]
1994: Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement [63]
1998: Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame,[64] Ronald H. Brown American Innovator Award[65]
2004: Honorary degree in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology from the University of Bologna, Italy[66]
2010: Honorary degree of Doctor honoris causa in the field of biological sciences from Masaryk University, Czech Republic[67]

References

a b c d McClain, Dylan Loeb (August 15, 2019). "Kary B. Mullis, 74, Dies; Found a Way to Analyze DNA and Won Nobel". The New York Times.
a b Laureates of the Japan Prize. japanprize.jp
^ Shampo, M. A.; Kyle, R. A. (2002). "Kary B. Mullis – Nobel Laureate for procedure to replicate DNA". Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 77 (7): 606. doi:10.4065/77.7.606. PMID 12108595.
a b c d e f Wade, Nicholas (September 15, 1998). "Scientist at Work/Kary Mullis; After the 'Eureka', a Nobelist Drops Out". The New York Times. p. F1. ISSN 0362-4331.
^ Pineda, Dorany (August 13, 2019). "Kary Mullis, quirky Nobel laureate whose DNA discovery changed the science world, dies". Los Angeles Times.
^ Arnaud, Celia Henry (August 21, 2019). "Kary Mullis dies at age 74". Chemical & Engineering News.
a b c "Autobiography". Nobel prize. March 21, 1998. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
a b c Shmaefsky, Brian Robert (October 30, 2006). Biotechnology 101. Greenwood Press. p. 184. ISBN 978-0-313-33528-0. Retrieved July 27, 2010. kary mullis.
^ Kary Mullis (December 8, 1993). "Nobel Lecture – The Polymerase Chain Reaction". nobelprize.org.
^ Kary Mullis: Play! Experiment! Discover! |TED Talk. TED.com. Retrieved on May 9, 2016.
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Yoffe, Emily (July 1994). "Is Kary Mullis God? Nobel Prize winner's new life". Esquire. Vol. 122 no. 1. pp. 68–75.
^ Mullis, Kary Banks (1973). "Schizokinen: Structure and Synthetic Work". ProQuest. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
a b c d e f g h i j k McDonald, Coby (Winter 2019). "Intolerable Genius: Berkeley's Most Controversial Nobel Laureate". California Magazine. Cal Alumni Association. OCLC 939087276. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
^ Mullis, Kary (May 1968). "Cosmological Significance of Time Reversal". Nature. 218 (5142): 663–664. Bibcode:1968Natur.218..663M. doi:10.1038/218663b0. ISSN 1476-4687. S2CID 4151884.
^ Mullis, Kary B.; Pollack, J. R.; Neilands, J. B. (December 1, 1971). "Structure of schizokinen, An iron-transport compound from Bacillus megaterium". Biochemistry. 10 (26): 4894–4898. doi:10.1021/bi00802a010. ISSN 0006-2960. PMID 4332462.
^ "Kary Mullis". www.k-state.edu. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
a b http://www.karymullis.com/pdf/karymullis-cv.pdf
^ "The Economist". March 13, 2004. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
a b c d e Mullis, K (1998). Dancing Naked in the Mind Field. Vintage Books. pp. 115–18, 143–53. ISBN 978-0-679-44255-4.
a b Gross, Michael (January 24, 2001). Life on the Edge: Amazing Creatures Thriving in Extreme Environments by Michael Gross. ISBN 978-0-7382-0445-1. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
^ Andrews, Lori; Nelkin, Dorothy (1998). "The Hastings Center Report": 30. Archived from the original on January 17, 2011.
^ "Advisors". USA science festival. Archived from the originalon April 21, 2010. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
a b Dr. Kary Banks Mullis. Karymullis.com. Retrieved on May 9, 2016.
^ "Citations for Chemical Breakthrough Awards 2017 Awardees". Division of the History of Chemistry. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
^ Saiki, R.; Scharf, S; Faloona, F; Mullis, K.; Horn, G.; Erlich, H.; Arnheim, N (December 20, 1985). "Enzymatic amplification of beta-globin genomic sequences and restriction site analysis for diagnosis of sickle cell anemia". Science. 230 (4732): 1350–1354. Bibcode:1985Sci...230.1350S. doi:10.1126/science.2999980. PMID 2999980.
^ Loxbridge and Dr Kary Mullis Announce the Formation of Altermune Technologies with $7m Seed Investment.Archived
a b c "Kary Mullis' next-gen cure for killer infections | Video on". Ted.com. February 2009. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
^ Buschman, Heather (May 6, 2015). "Molecular Homing Beacon Redirects Human Antibodies to Fight Pathogenic Bacteria"(Press release). University of California, San Diego. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
^ Kristian, SA; Hwang, JH; Hall, B; Leire, E; Iacomini, J; Old, R; Galili, U; Roberts, C; Mullis, KB; Westby, M; Nizet, V (2015). "Retargeting pre-existing human antibodies to a bacterial pathogen with an alpha-Gal conjugated aptamer". J. Mol. Med. 93 (6): 619–31. doi:10.1007/s00109-015-1280-4. PMC 4469262. PMID 25940316.
^ Kleppe, K.; Ohtsuka, E.; Kleppe, R.; Molineux, I.; Khorana, H. G. (1971). "Studies on polynucleotides *1, *2XCVI. Repair replication of short synthetic DNA's as catalyzed by DNA polymerases". Journal of Molecular Biology. 56 (2): 341–361. doi:10.1016/0022-2836(71)90469-4. PMID 4927950.
^ Khudyakov, Yury E.; Fields, Howard A. (2003). Artificial DNA: Methods and Applications by Yury E. Khudyakov, Howard A. Fields. ISBN 978-0-8493-1426-1. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
^ United States District Court, N.D. California. (July 26, 2001). "Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc. v. Promega Corporation, (N.D.Cal. 2001)". Casemine. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
^ Chien, A.; Edgar, D.B.; Trela, J.M. (1976). "Deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase from the extreme thermophile Thermus aquaticus". J. Bacteriol. 127 (3): 1550–1557. doi:10.1128/jb.127.3.1550-1557.1976. PMC 232952. PMID 8432.
^ Kaledin, A.S.; Sliusarenko, A.G.; Gorodetskii, S.I. (1980). "Isolation and properties of DNA polymerase from extreme thermophylic bacteria Thermus aquaticus YT-1". Biokhimiia. 45(4): 644–651. PMID 7378495.
^ Richard Bilsker. "Ethnography of a Nobel Prize". Hyle.org. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
a b Maggiore, Christine (2006). What If Everything You Thought You Knew About AIDS Was Wrong?. American Foundation For AIDS Alternative. ISBN 978-0-9674153-2-1.
^ Mullis, Kary B. (1995). "A hypothetical disease of the immune system that may bear some relation to the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome". Genetica. 95 (1–3): 195–197. doi:10.1007/bf01435010. ISSN 0016-6707. PMID 7744261. S2CID 28158163.
^ Kalichman, Seth (November 3, 2009). "How to spot an AIDS denialist". New Humanist. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
^ Basu, Paroma (June 1, 2005). "AIDS denialists back on the upswing". Nature. 11 (6): 581. doi:10.1038/nm0605-581b. PMID 15937451. S2CID 29361429.
^ Horvath, Hacsi (September 15, 1999). "AIDS heresies: From maverick science to conspiracy theories". CNN. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
^ Youson, Patricia (May 31, 2000). "Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)". The Washington Informer. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012 – via HighBeam Research.
^ Kalichman, Seth (2009). Denying AIDS: Conspiracy Theories, Pseudoscience, and Human Tragedy. New York: Springer Science+Business Media. pp. 177–178. ISBN 978-0-387-79475-4.
^ Gorman, Anna; Zavis, Alexandra (December 30, 2008). "Christine Maggiore, vocal skeptic of AIDS research, dies at 52". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
^ Nattrass, Nicoli (September–October 2007). "AIDS Denialism vs. Science". Skeptical Inquirer. Vol. 31 no. 5.
^ "Fireside Chat w/ Dr. Kary Mullis – Nobel Laureate, Chemistry". Google TechTalks. September 2010. Retrieved December 19, 2020 – via YouTube.
^ Johnson, George (October 28, 2007). "Bright Scientists, Dim Notions". The New York Times. Retrieved August 6, 2010.
^ Mullis, Kary (1998). "Chapter 15: I am a Capricorn" (PDF). Dancing Naked in the Mind Field. pp. 143–53. Archived (PDF)from the original on December 21, 2005.
^ Institute of Medicine (US) Committee for the Oversight of AIDS Activities (1988). Confronting AIDS: Update 1988. Institute of Medicine of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.17226/771. ISBN 978-0-309-03879-9. PMID 25032454. ... the evidence that HIV causes AIDS is scientifically conclusive.
^ "The Evidence that HIV Causes AIDS". National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. September 4, 2009. Archived from the original on November 24, 2009.
^ Oreskes, Naomi (December 2004). "Beyond the Ivory Tower: The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change". Science. 306(5702): 1686. doi:10.1126/science.1103618. PMID 15576594. Such statements suggest that there might be substantive disagreement in the scientific community about the reality of anthropogenic climate change. This is not the case [...] Politicians, economists, journalists, and others may have the impression of confusion, disagreement, or discord among climate scientists, but that impression is incorrect.
^ "Joint Science Academies' Statement: Global response to climate change" (PDF). United States National Academies. July 6, 2005. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
^ "Understanding and Responding to Climate Change" (PDF)(2008 ed.). United States National Academies. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 23, 2013.
^ Schoch, Russell (September 1994). "Q&A – A Conversation with Kerry Mullis". California Monthly. Vol. 105 no. 1. Berkeley, California: California Alumni Association. p. 20. OCLC 939087276.
^ Harrison, Ann (January 16, 2006). "LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug?". Wired. Wired. Retrieved March 11, 2008. Like Herbert, many scientists and engineers also report heightened states of creativity while using LSD. During a press conference on Friday, Hofmann revealed that he was told by Nobel-prize-winning chemist Kary Mullis that LSD had helped him develop the polymerase chain reaction that helps amplify specific DNA sequences.
^ Golden, Frederic (December 13, 2000). "The Worst And The Brightest". Time.
^ "Nobel Winner Kary Banks Mullis, Who Revolutionized DNA Research, Dies in O.C." MyNewsLA.com. August 8, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
^ Clark, Debbie (August 9, 2019). "Nobel Prize-winning chemist who grew up in SC capital dies at 74". The Post and Courier. Charleston, S.C. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
^ "Past Recipients, William Allan Award". American Society of Human Genetics. Archived from the original on August 4, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
^ "Award Winners 1970 – 2017". German Society for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
a b c d e Newton, David E. (2007). Forensic Chemistry. New York: Facts On File, Inc. ISBN 978-1-4381-0976-3. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
^ "John Scott Award Winners". U Penn. October 28, 2005. Archived from the original on July 1, 2010. Retrieved July 27,2010.
^ "Robert Koch Award". Robert-Koch-Stiftung. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
^ "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
^ "Inventor Profile", Hall of Fame, Invent.org, December 28, 1944, archived from the original on July 6, 2010, retrieved July 27, 2010
^ Nobel Prize Winner Among Rondal H. Brown Award Recipients, USA: PTO, October 13, 1998, archived from the original on February 20, 2009, retrieved July 27, 2010
^ "Laurea ad honorem a Kary Mullis" (in Italian). University of Bologna. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
^ "Kary Banks Mullis". Masaryk University. Retrieved August 14, 2019.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Kary Mullis

Kary Mullis (personal webpage).
Patent portfolio, Directory inventor, archived from the original on January 10, 2013.
Kary B. Mullis on Nobelprize.org

Interviews

Interview, Nobel Prize committee, 2005.
Klipfel, Sarah (1998), Interview, archived from the original on July 6, 2005 regarding his views on HIV/AIDS.

2009 Resume/CV for Kary Mullis

Source : [HL008L][GDrive]

CURRICULUM VITAEName: Kary B. Mullis, Ph.D.Born: December 28, 1944Lenoir, North CarolinaEDUCATION1962-66 Georgia Institute of TechnologyB.S. Chemistry1966-72 University of California, BerkeleyPh.D. BiochemistryAdvisor: John B. NeilandsResearch: Structure and organic synthesis of microbial iron transport agents1972 Lecturer, Department of BiochemistryUniversity of California, Berkeley1973-77 Post-doctoral Fellow, Pediatric CardiologyUniversity of Kansas Medical SchoolAdvisors: Richard Zakheim and Leone MattioliResearch: Angiotensin and pulmonary vascular physiology1977-79 Post-doctoral Fellow, Pharmaceutical ChemistryUniversity of California, San FranciscoAdvisor: Wolfgang SadeeResearch: Endorphins and the opiate receptorEMPLOYMENT1979-84 Scientist, Department of ChemistryCetus Corporation, Emeryville, CaliforniaResearch : Oligonucleotide synthesis and chemistry1984-86 Scientist, Department of Human GeneticsCetus Corporation, Emeryville, CaliforniaResearch: Oligonucleotide synthesis and chemistry1986-88 Director of Molecular BiologyXytronyx, Inc., San Diego, CaliforniaResearch : DNA Technology, Photochemistry and Photobiology1987-2002 Private Consultant : Nucleic Acid ChemistryAbbott Laboratories, N Chicago, ILAguoron Institute, La Jolla, CAAmbergene Corporation, San Francisco, CAAmersham, Arlington Heights, ILAmgen, Boulder, COAngenics, Cambridge, MAApplied Biosystems, Foster City, CABeckman Instruments, Brea, CABiosearch, Inc., San Rafael, CACampbell and Flores, San Diego, CA : Orchid BiosciencesCommunitech, Yorktown Heights, NYCellpro, Inc., Bothell, WACetus Corporation, Emeryville, CAChiron Corporation, Emeryville, CACytometrics, San Diego, CADiatron Corporation, San Diego, CADiversa, San Diego, CADuPont (Bernard, Rothwell & Brown), Washington, DCEastman Kodak, Rochester, NYEricomp, Inc., San Diego, CAGen-Probe, San Diego, CAGeneral Atomics, San Diego, CAIntegrated DNA Technologies, Iowa City, IAMcCutchen, Doyle, Enersen & Brown, San Francisco, CA: CetusMedenica Clinic, Hilton Head Island, SCMilligen/Biosearch, Concord, MAMolecular Devices, Inc., Menlo Park, CANational Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MDPennie & Edmonds, New York, NY: RocheOrrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe:PE Applied BiosystemsPerkin Elmer, Foster City, CAPerkin-Elmer-Cetus, Norwalk, CTResearch Genetics, Huntsville, ALSchleicher and Schuell, Keene, NHSpecialty Laboratories, Santa Monica, CAViagene, San Diego, CAVyrex Corporation, San Diego, CAXytronyx, San Diego, CA1991-2001 Expert Witness/Consultant: Forensic DNAJesse Ray Moffett, Petitioner vs. Superior Court of theState of California, County of San Diego, Respondent andThe People of the State of California, Real Party InInterest, Case Numbers CR 103094 (Superior Court)and D 014572 (Court of Appeal).Superior Court of the State of California in and for theCounty of Tulare: The People of the State of Californiavs. Randy Schlaepfer and William McIntosh, Case Number93-33026.Superior Court of the State of California in and for theCounty of Solano: The People of the State of Californiavs. Michael Van Wynn, Sr., Case Number C36299.Superior Court California, County of Ventura: People ofthe State of California, Plaintiff vs. Dennis Fredman,Case Number CR-30682.Superior Court of the State of California for the Countyof Los Angeles: The People of California vs. OrenthalJames Simpson, Case Number BA097211.Supreme Court of Queensland, AUSTRALIA: The CrownVs. Wayne Edward Butler, July 1999 – Feb 2001.1992-93 Vice President ResearchAtomic Tags, Inc., La Jolla, CA1994-present Distinguished Visiting Professor, The University ofSouth Carolina, College of Science and Mathematics,Columbia, SC1997-1998 VP Molecular BiologyVYREX Corporation, La Jolla, CA.1999-2003 VP Molecular BiologyBurstein Technologies, Irvine, CA.2003-present Distinguished ResearcherChildren’s Hospital at Oakland Research Institute at Oakland2003-present Founder and Chief Scientific OfficerAltermune, LLCBOARD OF SCIENTIFIC ADVISORSHealth Discovery Corporation, Savannah, GeorgiaFondazione Villa Maria, Bologna, ItalyPalazzo Innovazione Project, Milan, ItalyBiological Targets, Inc., Dallas, TexasAWARDSMay 1990 PREIS BIOCHEMISCHE ANALYTIK AWARDGerman Society of Clinical Chemistry and BoehringerMannheim, for the Invention of the Polymerase Chain Reaction. Munich.Oct 1990 WILLIAM ALLAN MEMORIAL AWARDAmerican Society of Human Genetics for Outstanding Work inHuman Genetics, Cincinnati, OhioJun 1991 VIRAL HEPATITIS RESEARCH FOUNDATION OF JAPAN AWARDFor Invention of the Polymerase Chain Reaction10th Anniversary of VHRF, Tokyo, JapanSep 1991 R&D MAGAZINE 1991 SCIENTIST OF THE YEARChicago, IllinoisOct 1991 GAIRDNER FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL AWARDToronto, CanadaNov 1991 NATIONAL BIOTECHNOLOGY VENTURES AWARDNational Conference on Biotechnology Ventures.San Francisco, CaliforniaFeb 1992 INVENTOR OF THE YEAR AWARDPeninsula Intellectual Property Law Association.Palo Alto, CaliforniaMay 1992 CETUS CORPORATION BIOTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AWARDAmerican Society for Microbiology.New Orleans, LouisianaNov 1992 CALIFORNIA SCIENTIST OF THE YEARCalifornia Museum of Science and Industry.Los Angeles, CaliforniaNov 1992 ROBERT KOCH PRIZERobert Koch Foundation.Bonn, GermanyNov 1992 JOHN SCOTT AWARDBoard of Directors of the City Trusts.Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaApr 1993 JAPAN PRIZEScience and Technology Foundation of Japan, Tokyo.Jul 1993 OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS TO CLINICAL CHEMISTRY AWARDAmerican Association for Clinical Chemistry.New York, New YorkAug 1993 THOMAS ALVA EDISON AWARDScience Innovation 1993.Boston, MassachusettsAug 1993 KIMBLE METHODOLOGY AWARDConference of Public Health Laboratories.San Francisco, CaliforniaDec 1993 NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRYStockholm, SwedenFeb 1994 DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARDMiami Bio/Technology Winter SymposiumAward Sponsored by: Warner-Lambert Company,Parke-Davis Pharmaceutical Research DivisionApr 1994 GUSTAVUS ESSELEN AWARD FOR CHEMISTRY IN THE PUBLIC INTERESTAmerican Chemical Society.Harvard, MassachusettsMay 1994 HONORARY DOCTOR OF SCIENCE DEGREEUniversity of South Carolina.Columbia, South CarolinaJun 1994 GOLDEN PLATE AWARDAmerican Academy of Achievement.Las Vegas, NevadaSept 1998 Induction NATIONAL INVENTORS HALL OF FAMEAkron, OHIOOct 1998 RONALD H. BROWN AMERICAN INNOVATOR AWARDWashington, DCNov 1999 KARL LANDSTEINER MEMORIAL AWARDAmerican Association of Blood BanksSan Francisco, CaliforniaOct 2001 MEDAL OF THE ITALIAN CHAMBER OF DEPUTIESPio Manzu International ConferenceRimini, ItalyMay 2004 HONORARY DEGREE IN PHARMACEUTICAL BIOTECHNOLOGYFaculty of Pharmacy, University of BolognaBologna, ItalyNov 2008 BayBio Lifetime Achievement AwardSan Francisco, CaliforniaEDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERBIOTECHNIQUES, Eaton Publishing Co.Natick, MAPCR METHODS AND APPLICATIONS, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory PressCold Spring Harbor, NYBIOTECHNOLOGY, MacmillanNew York, NYU.S. PATENTSSheldon, E., Levenson C., Mullis, K. and Rapoport, H.Process for Labeling Nucleic Acids Using Psoralen DerivativesUS 4,582,789 April 15, 1986Sheldon, E., Levenson, C., Mullis, K., Rapoport, H. and Watson, R.Process for Labeling Nucleic Acids and Hybridization ProbesUS 4,617,261 October 14, 1986Mullis, K.Process for Amplifying Nucleic AcidsUS 4,683,202 July 28, 1987Mullis, K., Erlich, H., Arnheim, N., Horn, G., Saiki, R. and Scharf, S.Process for Amplifying, Detecting, and/or Cloning Nucleic Acid SequencesUS 4,683,195 July 28, 1987Levenson, C. and Mullis, K.Precursor to Nucleic Acid ProbeUS 4,705,886 November 10, 1987Levenson, C. and Mullis, K.Precursor to Nucleic Acid ProbeUS 4,751,313 June 14, 1988Levenson, C. and Mullis, K.Precursor to Nucleic Acid ProbeUS 4,754,065 June 28, 1988Mullis, K., Erlich, H., Arnheim, N., Horn, G., Saiki, R. and Scharf, S.Process for Amplifying, Detecting, and/or Cloning Nucleic Acid SequencesUS 4,800,159 January 24, 1989Levenson, C. and Mullis, K.Carbamic Acid Ester Useful for Preparing a Nucleic Acid ProbeUS 4,803,297 February 7, 1989Mullis, K., Erlich, H., Gelfand, D., Horn, G. and Saiki, R.Process for Amplifying, Detecting, and/or Cloning Nucleic Acid Sequences Using aThermostable EnzymeUS 4,965,188 October 23, 1990Mullis, K.System for the Visualization of Exposure to Ultraviolet RadiationUS 5,028,792 July 2, 1991Sninsky, J., Kwok, S., Mack, D., Ehrlich, H. and Mullis, K.Detection of Viruses by Amplification and HybridizationUS 5,176,995 January 5, 1993Mullis, K.Rapid Purification of DNAUS 5,187,083 February 16, 1993Mullis, K.Rapid Purification of DNAUS 5,234,824 August 10, 1993Mullis, K., Johnson, L., Leath, R., Wennberg, T., Mezei, L. and Widunas, J.Apparatus and Method for Performing Automated Amplification of Nucleic Acid Sequencesand Assays Using Heating and Cooling StepsUS 5,333,675 August 2, 1994Sninsky, J., Kwok, S., Mack, D., Ehrlich, H. and Mullis, K.Primes and Probes for the Amplification and Detection of Aids Associated Nucleic AcidsUS 5,386,022 January 31, 1995Mullis, K.Systems for the Visualization of Exposure to Ultraviolet RadiationUS 5,436,115 July 25, 1995Erlich, H., Horn, G., Saiki, R. and Mullis, K.Process for Detecting Specific Nucleotide Variations and Genetic Polymorphisms Present inNucleic AcidsUS 5,468,613 November 21, 1995Erlich, H., Horn, G., Saiki, R. and Mullis, K.Process for Detecting Specific Nucleotide Variations and Genetic Polymorphisms Present inNucleic AcidsUS 5,604,099 February 18, 1997Mullis, K., Johnson, L., Leath, R., Wennberg, T., Mezei, L. and Widunas, J.System for Automated Performance of the Polymerase Chain ReactionUS 5,656,493 August 12, 1997Erlich, H., Horn, G., Saiki, R., Mullis, K. and Gelfand, D.Kits for Amplifying and Detecting Nucleic Acid Sequences, Including a ProbeUS 6,040,166 March 21, 2000Erlich, H., Horn, G., Saiki, R., Mullis, K. and Gelfand, D.Kits for Amplifying and Detecting Nucleic Acid SequencesUS 6,197,563 March 6, 2001Erlich, H., Horn, G., Saiki, R., Mullis, K. and Gelfand, D.Kits for Amplifying and Detecting Nucleic Acid SequencesUS 6,514,736 February 4, 2003

INVITED LECTURES

Jun 1986 Cold Spring Harbor 51st Symposium on Quantitative Biology / Cold Spring Harbor, NY
Dec 1986 Institute for Molecular Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine / Houston, TX
Jan 1987 Hereditary Disease Foundation / Santa Monica, CA
Apr 1987 Environmental Mutagen Society 18th Annual Meeting / Biotechnology Symposium / San Francisco, CA
Apr 1987 American Medical Association Conference / DNA Probes in the Practice of Medicine / Washington, DC
May 1987 Clinical Pathology Grand Rounds. / University of California / San Francisco, CA
Nov 1987 DNA PROBES: Market Challenges and Opportunities / Communitech Executive Conference / San Diego, CA
Nov 1987 100th Anniversary Clinical Laboratory Symposium on DNA Probes in Diagnostic Medicine / Genesee Hospital / Rochester, NY
May 1988 Center for Molecular Genetics / University of California / San Diego, CA
Oct 1988 AACC 3rd San Diego Conference / Practical Aspects of Molecular Probes / San Diego, CA
Dec 1988 Banbury Center Conference on the Polymerase Chain Reaction / Cold Spring Harbor, NY
Dec 1988 Centers for Disease Control, Sigma Xi Lecture / Atlanta, GA
Feb 1989 Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation / 11th Annual Conference on Clinical Laboratory Molecular Analysis / San Francisco, CA
Mar 1989 University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry / Rochester, NY
Apr 1989 UCLA Symposium on Molecular and Cellular Biology Polymerase Chain Reaction / Keystone, CO
May 1989 Presidential Lecture, Annual Meeting of the American Thoracic Society and the American Lung Association / Cincinnati, OH
Jun 1989 8th International Congress of Clinical Enzymology / Toronto, Canada
Jun 1989 Toronto General Hospital, Department of Clinical Biochemistry / Toronto, Canada
Jun 1989 National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry / Toronto, Canada
Jul 1989 8th European Congress of Clinical Chemistry and 21st National Congress of the Italian Society of Clinical Biochemistry / Milan, Italy
Jul 1989 Clinical Diagnostics into the 1990’s Communitech Health Care Conference / Atlanta, GA
Sep 1989 Paine Webber Biopharmaceuticals 1989 Conference / San Diego, CA
Sep 1989 University of Naples, Department of Biochemistry and Medical Biotechnology Four Lecture Series / Naples, Italy
Nov 1989 American Medical Association Conference on DNA Probes in the Practice of Medicine / San Diego, CA
Dec 1989 Advanced Concepts in Biology, Salon du Laboratorie / Paris, France
Feb 1990 Clinical Laboratory Molecular Analysis / San Diego, CA
May 1990 Preis Biochemische Analytik Lecture / Munich, Germany
May 1990 American Society for Microbiology / Anaheim, CA
Jul 1990 International Congress of Clinical Chemistry / San Francisco, CA
Jul 1990 Communitech Health Care Conference / San Francisco, CA
Sep 1990 INSERM Workshop 30, PCR Methodological Problems / Le Visinet, France
Oct 1990 WILLIAM ALLAN MEMORIAL AWARD Lecture American Society of Human Genetics / Cincinnati, OH
Oct 1990 Genome Sequencing Conference II / Hilton Head, SC
Nov 1990 9th Ernst Klenk Conference on “Recent Advances in the Genetics of Human Disease.” / Cologne, Germany
Nov 1990 Keynote Address at the 5th San Diego Conference on Nucleic Acids / American Association for Clinical Chemistry. / San Diego, CA
Apr 1991 University of Utah, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology / Salt Lake City, UT
May 1991 Juan March Foundation Lecture Course on “The Polymerase Chain Reaction” / Cuenca, Spain
May 1991 Departmento de Genetica Molecular, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas / Barcelona, Spain
May 1991 Viral Research Foundation of Japan / Tokyo, Japan
May 1991 Japan Health Sciences Foundation / Tokyo, Japan
Jul 1991 Gorden Research Conference on Organic Reactions and Processes / New Hampton, NH
Oct 1991 Institute for Molecular Biology, McMaster University / Hamilton, Ontario Canada
Oct 1991 Gairdner Foundation International Award Lecture / Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto / Toronto, Ontario Canada
Oct 1991 Banbury Conference on Intellectual Property and Biotechnology / Cold Spring Harbor, NY
Jan 1992 American Intellectual Property Law Association / 15th Annual Institute. / La Quinta, CA
Mar 1992 Sigma Xi, Roche Research Chapter. / Nutley, NJ
May 1992 CETUS AWARD Lecture / American Society of Microbiology / New Orleans, LA
Jun 1992 California State Bar Intellectual Property Section / La Jolla, CA
Jul 1992 AAAS Science Innovation 1992 / San Francisco, CA
Nov 1992 ROBERT KOCH AWARD Lecture / University of Bonn / Bonn, Germany
Nov 1992 University of Cologne / Cologne, Germany
Nov 1992 University of Giessen, Virology Institute / Giessen, Germany
Nov 1992 UNIDA International Course: PCR Applications / Catholic University / Santiago, Chile
Mar 1993 DNA and Biotechnology: A Celebration of 40 Years of the DNA Double Helix / Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory / Cold Spring Harbor, NY
Aug 1993 THOMAS ALVA EDISON AWARD Lecture / AAAS Science Innovation 1993 / Boston, MA
Oct 1993 13th Annual William Monroe Spicer Memorial Lecture in Chemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology / Atlanta, GA
Dec 1993 NOBEL PRIZE AWARD Lecture / Stockholm, Sweden
Feb 1994 Miami Bio/Technology Winter Symposia. Advances in Gene / Technology: Molecular Biology and Human Disease / Miami, FL
Apr 1994 GUSTAVUS ESSELEN AWARD Lecture / American Chemical Society / Harvard, MA
Apr 1994 European Society for Clinical Investigation / 28th Annual Scientific Meeting / Toledo, Spain
May 1994 Commencement Address / University of South Carolina Commencement Exercises / Columbia, SC
May 1994 Annual Meeting of the Friends of the State Museum / South Carolina State Museum / Columbia, SC
May 1994 COMETT Course: PCR Technology and its Applications / Academia dei Fisiocritici. / Siena, Italy
May 1994 The Sunday Times Nobel Laureate Lecture / London, England
Jun 1994 American Association for the Advancement of Science / Pacific Division Meeting, HIV/AIDS Symposium / Cal State University, Chico / Chico, CA
Jul 1994 Chinese University of Hong Kong/Wei Lun Visiting Professor / “Chemical Synthesis of Nucleotides and PCR Technology.” / Hong Kong
Jul 1994 CONNECT - University of California at San Diego / Director’s Luncheon / La Jolla, CA
Sep 1994 Perkin-Elmer - Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory / A Decade of PCR; In Celebration of Ten Years of Amplification / Cold Spring Harbor, NY
Sep 1994 Premio Philip Morris per la Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica. / Rome, Italy
Nov 1994 The Marlene A. DeLuca Memorial Lecture / University of California at San Diego / San Diego, CA
Nov 1994 Miami Bio/Technology European Symposia / Monte Carlo, Monaco
Mar 1995 University of California San Diego, UCSD Bookstore / Wednesday Night Live Lecture / San Diego, CA
Apr 1995 California State University Long Beach / 20th Annual Nobel Laureate Lecture / Long Beach, CA
Jun 1995 International Academy of Tumor Marker Oncology / 12th International Conference on Human Tumor Markers / New York, NY
Aug 1995 Texas A&M University, College of Veterinary Medicine / Horizons in Scientific Excellence
1995 Graduate Student Association Fall Forum / College Station, TX
Sep 1995 Washington Biotechnology Foundation / Forensic DNA Symposium / Seattle, WA
Sep 1995 California State University San Marcos
Fall 1995 Arts & Lectures Series / Musings of a Nobel Laureate / San Marcos, CA
Oct 1995 Armed Forces District of The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses / 34th Annual ACOG Conference, 17th Annual AWHONN Conference / San Diego, CA
Oct 1995 HEAL: Health-Education-AIDS LIAISON / Los Angeles, CA
Jan 1996 International Symposium on Advances in Head and Neck Cancer / Kiel, Germany
Feb 1996 Thomas Jefferson University, Jefferson Cancer Institute / Philadelphia, PA
May 1996 Corning Life Science, Inc. - Science Expo ‘96 / Chicago, IL
May 1997 Commencement Address / California State University Sacramento School of Engineering and Computer Science / Sacramento, CA
Oct 1997 International Symposium: AIDS Without HIV / Bucaramanga, Colombia, South America
Jun 1998 Biotechnology 2001 Conference / Virginia Polytechnic Institute / Blacksburg, VA
Aug 1998 Evolution and Consciousness Symposium / Fundacion General de la Universidad Complutense / El Escorial, Spain
Oct 1998 Health Education AIDS Liaison / Toronto, Canada
Oct 1998 Problems in Professional Science in the late Twentieth Century / University of South Carolina / Columbia, SC
Nov 1998 International Symposium on Biotechnology / Korea University / Seoul, Korea
Nov 1998 Detection of Biological Weapons / Korean Military Academy / Seoul, Korea
Dec 1998 The Power of Innovation Lecture / Ten Nobels for the Future International Conference / Milan, Italy
Mar 1999 Voices of Discovery Lecture, / Elon College / Elon College, North Carolina
Mar 1999 Lecture, Charles Drew University / Los Angeles, California
Apr 1999 South Carolina Academy of Science Lecture / Lander University / Greenwood, South Carolina
Jun 1999 Lecture / University of California at Davis / Davis, California
Jul 1999 Presentation, DARPA, Defense Sciences Research Council / La Jolla, California
Sep 1999 Gene Medicine Symposium / Industrial Investment Council of Germany / Washington, DC
Nov 1999 Karl Landsteiner Memorial Award Lecture / American Association of Blood Banks 52nd Annual Meeting / San Francisco, California
Feb 2000 Lecture / Doane College / Crete, Nebraska
Mar 2000 The 2000 James Patterson Memorial Lecture / Florida Blood Services Foundation / Tampa, Florida
May 2000 Commencement Address / Lackawanna Junior College / Scranton, Pennsylvania
June 2000 Jubilee Commemorative Nobel Lecture / 50th Meeting of Nobel Prize Winners in Lindau / Lindau, Germany
July 2000 Lecture, International Scientific Symposium / Freie Universitat Berlin / Berlin, Germany
Sept 2000 Minnesota Mining Manufacturing / Engineering Systems Technology Center / St. Paul, Minnesota
Oct 2000 Italian Biotec Award, Selection Committee Chairman and Lecture / The University of Milan / Milan, Italy
Nov 2000 Keynote speaker / Research Centers for Minority Institutions Int. Symposium / San Juan, Puerto Rico
Nov 2000 Millennium Lecture / Mauritius Sugar Research Institute / Mauritius
April 2001 Colorado School of Mines / Millennium Lecture / Golden, Colorado
April 2001 University of Maryland / Keynote speaker, Graduate Research Conference / Baltimore, Maryland
June 2001 Lecture University of Glasgow / Glasgow, Scotland
July 2001 International Seminars of Medicine and Biology / Lecture / Pennabilli, Italy
Sept 2001 Skidmore College / Keynote Speaker, Opening Convocation / Saratoga Springs, New York
Oct 2001 Howard Hughes Endeavor for Life Science Excellence Lecture / The University of Vermont / Burlington, Vermont
Nov 2001 The 2001 Harry Mullin, M.D. Memorial Lecture / The University of Scranton / Scranton, Pennsylvania
Nov 2001 Orchid BioSciences Lecture / Princeton, New Jersey
Dec 2001 Centennial of the Nobel Prize Lectures / Palazzo Clerici, Salone del Tiepolo / Milan, Italy
Dec 2001 The Year of Biotechnology Lecture / The Korea Academy of Science and Technology / Seoul, Korea
Feb 2002 Convocations & Lectures Series / Oregon State University / Corvallis, Oregon
Feb 2002 Distinguished Lecturer Series / University of Texas / Austin, Texas
Feb 2002 Technology Entertainment Design (TED) Conference Lecture / Monterey, California
Mar 2002 The Scripps Institute Society of Fellows Lecture / The Scripps Research Institute / La Jolla, California
Oct 2002 Virginia Tech Conference Lecture / McLean, Virginia
Feb 2003 The Royal Society Lecture / London, England
Mar 2003 University of Bologna Lectures / Bologna, Italy
Apr 2003 Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore Lecture / Piacenza, Italy
Apr 2003 Graduate Student Research Symposium Lecture / San Diego State University / San Diego, California
Jun 2003 Associazione Nazionale Tra I Produttori Di Alimenti Zootecnici Lecture / Milan, Italy
Jun 2003 Congresso Nazionale Societa Italiana di Dermatologia Lecture / Rome, Italy
Jun 2003 Dompe L’Aquila 10th Anniversary Lecture / L’Aquila, Italy
Jun 2003 Workshop on Anti-Aging Lecture / Ilustre Colegio de Medicos de Madrid / Madrid, Spain
Jun 2003 TEDMED3 Conference Lecture / Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jul 2003 New Frontiers in RNA Research Lecture / Academy of Science / Berlin, Germany
Sep 2003 Clifford C. Hach Lecture / University of Wyoming / Laramie, Wyoming
Oct 2003 President, Produzioni agroalimentari tipiche: Strategie nutrizionali di prevenzione e miglioramento della qualita della vita. / Potenza, Italy
Oct 2003 Artus PCR Symposium Lecture / Hamburg, Germany
Oct 2003 American Society of Therapeutic Radiologists and Oncologists Keynote Lecture / Salt Lake City, Utah
Nov 2003 Anniversary Lecture, Universidad Autonoma de Coahuila / Coahuila, Mexico
Apr 2004 Life, a Nobel Story Lecture / The Royal Flemish Chemical Society / Brussels, Belgium
May 2004 World Congress on In Vitro Biology / Keynote Symposium Lecture / San Francisco, California
Jun 2004 Lecture, Jones Day Law Firm / San Francisco, California
Jun 2004 30th Anniversary Lecture / Laval University’s Infectious Disease Research Center / Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Jun 2004 Lecture via teleconference to Ankara, Turkey
Sep 2004 Lecture, Quantitative PCR Conference / Bournemouth, UK
Sep 2004 A Global Dialogue for Inspiration / Waldzell Meeting at Melk Abbey / Vienna, Austria
Oct 2004 Bergamo Scienza Conference, Interview on Stage / Bergamo, Italy
Oct 2004 TEDMED Conference Lecture / Charleston, South Carolina
Oct 2004 NAPPO Symposium Lecture / Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Jan 2005 Medicine Meets Virtual Reality Conference Lecture / Long Beach, California
Feb 2005 LabAutomation 2005 Conference Plenary Speaker / San Jose, California
Mar 2005 Festival of Thinkers Conference, Higher Colleges of Technology / Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
May 2005 Chairman, Brain and Nutrition Conference / Ravenna, Italy
Jun 2005 Innovation Day, Milan Chamber of Commerce / Milan, Italy
Jun 2005 Lecture, Symposium on DNA Templated Chemistry / Zurich, Switzerland
Jun 2005 Raths-Steiger Lecture / “Emotions and their impact on medical science, society and humanities.” / Zurich, Switzerland
Jun 2005 Future Aspects in Molecular Diagnostics / Lecture, PCR Technology – Past, Present & Future / Berlin, Germany
Jun 2005 Originality and Creativity Panel Discussion / Berlin, Germany
Jun 2005 Meeting of Nobel Prize Winners / Lecture, Chemically Programmable Immunity / Lake Constance, Lindau, Germany
Sep 2005 Ambrosetti Conference / “Intelligence 2005 on the World, on Europe, on Italy” Lecture / Lake Como, Italy
Sep 2005 High Tech Business Council Conference Lecture / Rochester, New York
Sep 2005 “2005 Distinguished Visiting Scientist” Lecture / Institute for Medical Research at the North Shore LIJ Health System / Long Island, New York
Oct 2005 Roche Diagnostics / “5th Annual LightCycler User Group Meeting” Lecture / Montreal, Canada
Apr 2006 Innovation and Creativity Panel and Forum / Case Western Reserve University / Cleveland, Ohio
May 2006 Lecture, Society for Medical Innovation and Technology / Monterey, California
Apr 2006 Lecture and Chairman, / Brain and Heart: Cardiovascular Disease and Depression Conference / Bologna, Italy
Nov 2006 Lecture, UCI Immunology Fair / University of California at Irvine, California
Jan 2007 Lecture, Insight Lecture Series / Rockefeller University / New York, New York
Feb 2007 Lecture, “The Origin of PCR” / 2nd International Symposium of Stem Cells and Assisted Reproduction / Guadalajara, Mexico
Mar 2007 Keynote Speaker, 50th Anniversary of the Faculty of Medicine of the Autonomous / University of Coahuila, Torreon, Mexico
Mar 2007 Keynote Speaker, BIOMEDEX 2007 / Montreal, Canada
Jun 2007 Lecture, American Association of Clinical Chemistry, Southern California Chapter / Fullerton, California
Aug 2007 Lecture, Symposium: Horizons of Medicine / XXIV National Congress of Biomedical Research / School of Medicine, Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon / Monterrey, N.L. Mexico
Oct 2007 2nd Festival of Thinkers Conference, Higher Colleges of Technology / Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
May 2008 Lecture, Keck School of Medicine Commencement Ceremony / Pasadena, California
May 2008 Lecture / Pesaro, Italy
Jun 2008 Lecture , Istituto Marangoni / Milan, Italy
Jun 2008 Lecture, Gruppo del Cerchio / Turin, Italy
Jun 2008 President’s Circle Event: Milestones in Science, Discoveries That Shaped History / Burnham Institute for Medical Research / La Jolla, California
Jul 2008 Lecture, Air Force Research Labs / Brooks Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas
Aug 2008 Lecture, Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biology / Auckland, New Zealand
Sept 2008 Plenary Lecture, Queenstown Molecular Biology Meetings / Queenstown, New Zealand
Sept 2008 Keynote Speaker, Healthcare 2008 Forum Invest / Bucharest, Romania
Oct 2008 Keynote Speakers, Mid-Atlantic Bio Conference / Chantilly, Virginia
Jan 2009 Keynote Speakers, International Symposium on LifeChips / University of California at Irvine, Irvine, California
Mar 2009 Lecture, Second Meeting of the World Congress for Freedom of Scientific Research / European Parliament / Brussels, Belgium
Mar 2009 Keynote Lecture, qPCR 2009 Symposium / Technical University of Munich / Freising, Germany
Mar 2009 Plenary Lecture, Recent Progress in the Genetic Identification of Contact Cells / Laboratoire d’Hematologie Medico-Legale / Bordeaux, France

BOOKS

Mullis, K. Ferre, F. and Gibbs, R. editors : The Polymerase Chain Reaction : Birkhauser 1994 Boston
Mullis, K. : Dancing Naked in the Mind Field : Pantheon/Random House 1998 New York

PUBLICATIONS

Mullis, K. B., Cosmological Significance of Time Reversal, Nature 218 : 663 (1968)
Mullis, K. B., Schizokinen: Structure and Synthetic Work, DISSERTATION, University of California, Berkeley (1973)
Mullis, K., Pollack, J. and Neilands, J., Structure of Schizokinen, an Iron-Transport Compound from Bacillus gaterium, Biochemistry 10: 1071 (1971)
Molteni, A., Zakheim, R., Mullis, K. and Mattioli, L., The Effects of Chronic Aveolar Hypoxia on Lung and Serum Angiotensin-I-Converting Enzyme Activity, Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 147: 263 (1974)
Mattioli, L., Zakheim, R., Molteni, A. and Mullis, K., Angiotensin-I-Converting Enzyme Activity in IdiopathicRespiratory Distress Syndrome in the Newborn and Experimental Aveolar Hypoxia, Journal of Pediatrics 87: 976 (1975)
Molteni, A., Mullis, K., Mattioli, L., Zakheim, R. and Bartley, J., Prevention of Pulmonary Vascular Changes of Chronic Alveolar Hypoxia by Inhibition of Angiotensin-I-Converting Enzyme, Laboratory Investigations 33: 57 (1975)
Molteni, A., Mullis, K., Zakheim, R. and Mattioli, L., Angiotensin-I-Converting Enzyme and Angiotensin II Levels in Women Receiving Oral Contraceptive J. Clin. Endocrinol. and Metab. 42: 588 (1976)
Molteni, A., Mullis, K., Zakheim, R. and Mattioli, L., Effects of Changes in Dietary Sodium on Lung and Serum Angiotensin-I-Converting Enzyme in the Rat, Laboratory Investigations 35 : 569 (1976)
Mullis, K.B., The Samuelson Case, Medical Dimensions 5 : 36 (1976), FICTION
Mullis, K., Perry, D., Finn, A., Stafford, B. and Sadee, W., Morphine Persistence in Rat Brain and Serum After Single Doses, J. Pharm. Exp. Ther. 208 : 228 (1979)
Perry, D., Mullis, K., Oie, S. and Sadee, W., Opiate Antagonist Receptor Binding In Vivo: Evidence for a New Receptor Binding Model, Brain Research 199 : 49 (1980)
Winkler, M., Mullis, K., Barnett, J., Stroynowski, I. and Yanofsky, C., Transcription Termination at the Tryptophan Operon Attenuator is Decreased In Vitro by an Oligomer Complementary to a Segment of the Leader Transcript, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 79 : 2181 (1982)
Stetler, D., Das, H., Nunberg, J., Saiki, R., Sheng-Dong, R., Mullis, K., Weissman, S. and Erlich, H., Isolation of a cDNA Clone for the Human HLA-DR Antigen Alpha-Chain by Using a Synthetic Oligonucleotide as a Hybridization Probe, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 79 : 5966 (1982)
Das, H., Biro, A., Mullis, K., Lawrence, S. and Weissman, S., The Cloning and Structure of the Heavy Chain Gene of HLA-DR in IR Genes Past, Present, and Future, Humana Press (1983)
Brown, S., Mullis, K., Levensen, C. and Shafer, R., Aqueous Solution Structure of an Intercalated Actinomycin D d-ATGCAT Complex by Two-dimensional and One-dimensional Proton NMR, Biochemistry 23 : 403 (1984)
Saiki, R., Scharf, S., Faloona, F., Mullis, K., Horn, G., and Erlich, H., Enzymatic Amplification of Beta-Globin Sequences and Restriction Site Analysis for Diagnosis of Sickle Cell Anemia, Science 230 : 1350 (1985)
Mullis, K., Faloona, F., Scharf, S., Saiki, R., Horn, G. and Erlich, H., Specific Enzymatic Amplification of DNA In Vitro: The Polymerase Chain Reaction, Cold Spring Harbor Symposium on Quantitative Biology 51 : 263 (1986)
Saiki, R., Bugawan, T., Horn, G., Mullis, K. and Erlich, H., Analysis of Enzymatically Amplified Beta-Globin and HLA-DQ-Alpha DNA with Allele-Specific Oligonucleotide Probes, Nature 324 : 6093 (1986)
Erlich, H., Horn, G., Saiki, R., Scharf, S., Mullis, K. and Bugawan, T., Genetic Analysis Using Amplification of Specific Genomic Sequences, Current Communications In Molecular Biology: DNA Probes; Applications in Genetic and Infectious Disease and Cancer, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press (1986)
Kwok, S., Mack, D., Mullis, K., Poiesz, B., Ehlich, G., Blair, D., Friedman-Klein, A. and Sninsky, J., Identification of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Sequences by Using In Vitro Enzymatic Amplification and Oligomer Cleavage Detection, J. Virol. 61(5) : 1690 (1987)
Mullis, K. and Faloona, F., Specific Synthesis of DNA In Vitro Via a Polymerase Catalyzed Chain Reaction, Methods in Enzymology. 155 : 335 (1987), Reprinted in Recombinant DNA Methodology. Ed. R. Wu, L. Grossman and K. Moldave. Academic Press (1989)
Saiki, Gelfand, Stoffel, Scharf, Higuichi, Horn, Mullis, Erlich., Primer-Directed Enzymatic Amplification of DNA with a Thermostable DNA Polymerase, Science 239 : 487 (1988)
Mullis, K., The Polymerase Chain Reaction: Why it Works, Current Communications in Molecular Biology, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press (1989)
Mullis, K., The Unusual Origin of the Polymerase Chain Reaction, Scientific American 262 : 56 (1990), Reprinted in Science in the Twentieth Century: Scientific American Special Issue, April 1991
Mullis, K., Target Amplification for DNA Analysis by the Polymerase Chain Reaction, Annales De Biologie Clinique 48 : 579 (1990)
Mullis, K., Rapid Purification of DNA from Blood, Juan March Foundation Lecture Course on the Polymerase Chain Reaction, Serie Universitaria 263 : 13 (1991)
Mullis, K., The Polymerase Chain Reaction in an Anemic Mode: How to Avoid Oligodeoxyribonucleic Fusion, PCR Methods and Applications 1 : 1 (1991)
Mullis, K., The Unlikely Origin of the Polymerase Chain Reaction, Cell and Molecular Biology, Ed. S. L. Wolfe, Wadsworth Publishing Co., Belmont, CA (1992)
Mullis, K., The Polymerase Chain Reaction, Les Prix Nobel (1993) and Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl., 1994/33 (1994)
Mullis, K., PCR and Scientific Invention : The Trial of DuPont vs. Cetus, The Polymerase Chain Reaction, Mullis, K., Ferre, F., and Gibbs, R. – Editors, Birkhauser (1994)
Mullis, K., A Hypothetical Disease of the Immune System that may Bear Some Relation to the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, Genetica 95: 195-7, 1995.

EVIDENCE TIMELINE

1990 - Scientific American : "The Unusual Origin of the Polymerase Chain Reaction ; A surprisingly simple method for making unlimited copies of DNA fragments was conceived under unlikely circumstances-during a moonlit drive through the mountains of California" by Kary B. Mullis

Scientific American : Vol. 262, No. 4 (APRIL 1990), pp. 56-65 (10 pages)

K B Mullis

PMID: 2315679 / DOI: 10.1038/scientificamerican0490-56

Saved PDF : [HP00CH][GDrive][DOI:10.1038/scientificamerican0490-56]

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In the spring of 1984, while working on the patent, I presented a poster describing the PCR at the annual Cetus Scientific Meeting. These meetings were always fun, because Cetus had some first-rate scientific advisers, and I was looking forward to talking with them about my invention.

Yet nobody seemed to be interested in my poster, and I felt increasingly anxious. People would glance at it and keep walking. Finally, I noticed Joshua Lederberg, president of the Rockefeller University, nearby, and I snared him into looking at my results. Josh looked the poster over carefully and then turned his enormous head, the Nobel-laureated head, the head that had deduced in 1946 that bacteria could have sexual intercourse. "Does it work?" He seemed amused.

Pleased, I confirmed that it did, and we talked for a long time. At one point he mentioned that about 20 years previously, after Kornberg had discovered DNA polymerase, the two of them had considered the notion that the enzyme could somehow be harnessed to make large quantities of DNA.They had not figured out exactly how to do it, however. I reminded him that oligonucleotides were not readily available at that time and that there was hardly any DNA sequence information either.

But he looked back at my poster with an expression that I have almost come to expect. I think that Josh, after seeing the utter simplicity of the PCR, was perhaps the first person to feel what is now an almost universal first response to it among molecular biologists and other DNA workers: "Why didn't I think of that?" And nobody really knows why; surely I don't. I just ran into it one night.

1999 (April 19) - The Guardian : "The maverick - Kary Mullis" interview

1999-04-19-the-guardian-the-maverick.pdf

1999-04-19-the-guardian-the-maverick-img-1.jpg

Only rarely can you say of a scientist that, without him or her, the world would be a different place. But it is true of Kary Mullis, who is an integral part of the history of the genetic revolution. Mullis is an unlikely member of the biologist's team, because he is a chemist, and one with leanings towards mathematics and physics. He has an animated curiosity and a mind which roams over many areas of science. He has invented a plastic which changes colour when exposed to ultra-violet light; he dabbles in astrology, talks about 'astral plains' and LSD, and has some original ideas about Aids (he believes that the disease is not caused by HIV).

I met him in a friend's house in a small town near his roots in North Carolina. He arrived awkwardly, smiling and leaking energy like an adolescent. He is polite in the Southern way, and has the accent of his childhood, although his speech has been influenced by West Coast surfers.

He doesn't look at you much, except when he concentrates on a question; then his eyes have an open, hypnotic quality which makes you want to look away. He likes to drink and sipped from a large glass of red wine. His face occasionally breaks into a broad smile, as if he is touched by the pleasure of his own ideas.

Back in April 1983, Mullis had applied his brilliant, unkempt mind to the problems chemists think about when they are bored. He was driving up to his cabin in Anderson Valley, California, where the redwoods grow. He began to think about a particular problem. Suddenly, he experienced a rush of thought which was to change biology and open up great possibilities, although he had no idea of its impact at the time.

He was conscious of a revelation unfolding while he stared at the lights before him on the road. He had a vision of a Romantic poet - Shelley walking in the west wind. This is how he describes it in his book, Dancing Naked in the Mind Field (Bloomsbury pounds 12.99): 'My little silver Honda's front tyres pulled us through the mountains. My mind drifted back into the lab. DNA chains coiled and floated. Lurid blue and pink images of electric molecules injected themselves somewhere between the mountain and my eyes.' The problem was how to find a chemical process to target specific lengths of DNA in billions of base pairs of genetic code. How could he get a usable quantity of this fragile, tangled material? 'I had to arrange a series of chemical reactions, the result of which would stretch the DNA,' he writes. His mind ran through a series of reactions which would define and isolate the target. Then he realised that one of the reactions, involving polymerase, a naturally occurring enzyme that takes part in forming DNA, would double the target sequence. That's its job - copying DNA naturally. And it would repeat and repeat, like the computer programs Mullis was then writing .

He stopped the car, found a pencil stub and paper, and began to calculate. What he was contemplating was a chain reaction and it was clear that, if it worked, it could generate a huge number of copies of the target DNA very quickly. (Today PCR machines can produce 100 billion copies of a targeted sequence in an afternoon.) The process is hard to understand if you are not a scientist, but to Mullis it seemed shockingly simple, so simple that he assumed it must have been already invented. Not so. All the constituent parts of PCR were known for 15 years and waiting to be put together. That was why Mullis was able to invent the chain reaction while driving a car, and not in some lab where each step had to be tested.

It took a while for Cetus Lab, where Mullis worked, to make PCR a reality, and it subsequently challenged Mullis's authorship, saying that it had contributed as much to the development of the process as he had. At length, when another company, the multinational giant Du Pont, tried to claim that PCR had been developed 10 years before in its laboratories, Cetus employees had to back Mullis's account of the invention in court. Either that or lose the hugely profitable patent.

He was subsequently awarded the Nobel prize, but was only given a $10,000 bonus by Cetus. It is fair to say that relations between Mullis and his former colleagues are still sour.

I asked him whether PCR and its contribution to the efforts to map the human genome bothered him.

It was PCR which allowed the rapid identification and amplification of parts of the human genome which will be analysed and used to change humanity.

'I am basically an optimist about having control of future generations. A lot of people don't think about this, but when I am choosing a wife I am basically choosing some traits I would like my children to have. You don't just randomly mate with a female -unless you're in college -you study her traits and make a selection. We will be doing this at a slightly different level, that's all. A lot of people have a fear about this, but we've been doing it for 2 million years.' I suggested that the selection of a mate, which relied on the mate's compliance, was not quite the same as isolating and inserting genes for intelligence, blue eyes or a talent for interior decoration into an embryo.

'Why not?' he said. 'We have been breeding selectively for all time. You would like everyone to be funnier, wouldn't you? Be smarter, happier, more successful, better at sports, have a better intellect - wouldn't you? Those kinds of options will be available to future parents and it doesn't bother me. Hell, I love smart, beautiful, funny women and I wish there could be more of them.' Mullis is in his fifties, but there is a lot of the boy prodigy about him and he used to have a reputation for hell raising. Scientific conferences all over the world were enlivened by his behaviour. He described how he had been 'skinny-dipping' at one conference and had his clothes hidden by Craig Venter, now one the magi of the Human Genome Project.

'Craig was sitting in a hot tub and I walked up to him and I held a chair over his head and I said Craig, if you don't tell me where my clothes are I am going to kill you. I think he believed me because he went and found my clothes.' Venter was wise. There is something extreme about Mullis, who as a boy made his own explosives and detonated them in the backyard.

Mullis's mind is often in a state of free association, but this doesn't seem to stop him making important connections. He has a good grasp of the history of science, especially the extraordinary leaps in his professional life.

'It is interesting that biochemistry developed alongside computers. If computers had not come along at about the same time as the structure of DNA was discovered, there would be no biochemistry. You always needed the computer to process the information. Without it we would have rooms and rooms full of monks writing out the sequences.' You could almost say the same about PCR. Life without PCR would be very different. It is used in police investigations to identify fragments of DNA to prove a suspect's presence at a crime scene. It has become an essential part of medical diagnostics, and in archaeology it has opened enormous possibilities. (The PCR process was the basis of the plot of Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park, in which the DNA of dinosaurs was extracted from a mosquito preserved in amber.) To the Human Genome Project, Mullis has contributed one of three important elements (computing and the sequencing method being the other two). Without his drive through California none of it would be possible.

Now he has plunged into another project, a still-secret method of diagnosing illness by machine.

'A doctor is meant to work out what's the matter with his patient in 18 minutes,' he said. 'There are not a lot of options you can cover in that time, not a lot of questions you can ask.' In Star Trek, he points out, they have a doctor who is a hologram, and not human. 'That makes sense to me.'

2002 (Aug/Sep)

https://www.genomeweb.com/archive/short-reads-7

2002-09-01-genomeweb-com-archive-short-reads-7.pdf

Craig Venter, who has been decorated with more awards than you’re interested in tracking, recently was presented with the Rell Sun award by the UCSD Cancer Center Luau and Longboard Invitational, one of the biggest draws of surfing legends in the world. Along with the recognition of his surfer fans, Venter received the award in the presence of friend and fellow surfer, Kary Mullis.

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