“M “is for Mullis, Kary Banks (1944-2011)

“M “is for Mullis, Kary Banks (1944-2011). Scientist.  Born in North Carolina, Mullis grew up Columbia, S.C. A graduate of Georgia Tech, he obtained his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of California at Berkeley. While employed at Cetus Corporation, he conceived and developed the idea of PCR, polymerase chain reaction, in 1983. This technique amplifies DNA, enabling scientists to make a virtually unlimited number of copies of a single DNA molecule in a short time. Considered by many scientists to be one of the greatest advancements in molecular biology, Mullis's work on PCR garnered him (with Michael Smith of the University of British Columbia) a share of the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1993 in recognition of his milestone discovery. Kary Banks Mullis’s impact on the world of biotechnology has been described as no less than revolutionary.