Kary mullis contribution
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Polymerase chain reaction
Laboratory technique to multiply a DNA sample for study
The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a method widely used to make millions to billions of copies of a specific DNA sample rapidly, allowing scientists to amplify a very small sample of DNA (or a part of it) sufficiently to enable detailed study. PCR was invented in 1983 by American biochemistKary Mullis at Cetus Corporation. Mullis and biochemist Michael Smith, who had developed other essential ways of manipulating DNA, were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1993.[1]
PCR is fundamental to many of the procedures used in genetic testing and research, including analysis of ancient samples of DNA and identification of infectious agents. Using PCR, copies of very small amounts of DNA sequences are exponentially amplified in a series of cycles of temperature changes. PCR is now a common and often indispensable technique used in medical laboratory research for a broad variety of applications including biomedical research and forensic science.[2][3]
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Kary B. Mullis
The polymerase chain reaction, which was devised by Kary Mullis, has revolutionized DNA technology. It has had a major impact on molecular biology, medicine, forensics, molecular paleontology, and many related fields.
PCR amplifies specific DNA sequences from very small amounts of complex genetic material. The amplification produces an almost unlimited number of highly purified DNA molecules suitable for analysis or manipulation. PCR has allowed screening for genetic and infectious diseases. Analysis of DNAs from different populations, including DNA from extinct species, has allowed the reconstruction of phylogenetic trees including primates and humans. PCR is essential to forensics and paternity testing.
Mullis was born in Lenoir, North Carolina and grew up in Columbia, South Carolina. He received a B.S. from Georgia Tech and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. While working for Cetus Corporation, he invented PCR, which immediately spread to laboratories around the world where DNA chemistry was performed. PCR technology has grown into a seve
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Published in final edited form as: Dig Dis Sci. 2015 Aug;60(8):2230–2231. doi: 10.1007/s10620-015-3747-0
One of the great quests of humanity has been to understand and harness the forces that pervade the universe. A prime example was the ability to control nuclear chain reactions in the laboratory, which of course had immense ramifications for the generation of power and the production of useful isotopes, but also for the creation of weapons capable of massive destruction that to this day remain an existential threat to our planet. Just as Prometheus came too close to the divine fire, the revelation of these heretofore-unobtainable powers can be immensely beneficial or utterly destructive. Another kind of chain reaction, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), invented several decades ago, is an additional example of humanity acquiring formerly unobtainable powers, in this case, the ability to exponentially amplify perfect copies of biologic material, which is an essential attribute of every known life form. In this case, the ra
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