American biochemist Kary Banks Mullis (1944–2019) invented the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), which transformed the study of genetics, medicine, and forensic science. He grew up in Columbia, South Carolina, and received his doctorate in biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1972. In 1979 he joined the biotechnology company Cetus Corporation in California, where he synthesized short DNA molecules for research. In 1983 he conceived PCR, a method through which successive cycles of DNA synthesis amplify a specific DNA region from a minute initial sample.
PCR became a fundamental
tool for DNA analysis, with applications in disease diagnosis,
forensic identification, evolutionary biology, and ancient DNA
research. Mullis supplied the central insight, while
colleagues at Cetus helped turn the idea into a reliable
laboratory technique. He shared the 1993 Nobel Prize in
Chemistry with Michael Smith, whose separate contribution
concerned site-directed mutagenesis. Mullis cultivated a
reputation for eccentricity: he enjoyed surfing, described his
experiences with psychedelic drugs, and challenged the
scientific consensus on HIV and AIDS. The
idea for PCR was said to have occurred to him on an LSD trip
across the Golden Gate Bridge. His autobiography, Dancing
Naked in the Mind Field (1998), combined
biography with speculation.