Kary Mullis Totally Explained

Everything about Kary Banks Mullis totally explained

Kary Banks Mullis, Ph.D. (born December 28, 1944) is an American biochemist and Nobel laureate. Dr Mullis was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1993 for his development of the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), a central technique in biochemistry and molecular biology which allows the amplification of specified DNA sequences. Dr Mullis subsequently was awarded the Japan Prize that same year.

Early life and education

Mullis was born in Lenoir, North Carolina, near the Blue Ridge Mountains, on December 28, 1944. His family had a background in farming in the rural area, and as a child Mullis studied the diverse organisms of nearby farms. He grew up in Columbia, South Carolina, He then proceeded to Xytronyx Inc. in 1986, where he was appointed the director of molecular biology, before moving on to serve as a nucleic acid chemistry consultant for multiple corporations.
In 1992, Mullis founded a business with the intent to sell pieces of jewelry containing the amplified DNA of famous people, such as musicians, to young people.

PCR and other inventions

In 1983, Mullis was working for Cetus. That spring, while driving his scooter and not watching the lines on the highway, Mullis conceived of the idea of using a pair of primers to bracket the desired sequence and copying it using DNA polymerase, but the polymerase was destroyed with each thermal cycle and had to be replaced. In 1986, he started to use Thermophilus aquaticus (Taq) DNA polymerase to amplify segments of DNA. The Taq polymerase was heat resistant and would only need to be added once, thus making the technique dramatically more affordable and subject to automation. This has created revolutions in biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, medicine and forensics.
Mullis has also invented a UV-sensitive plastic that changes color in response to light, and most recently has been working on an approach for mobilizing the immune system to neutralize invading pathogens and toxins, leading to the formation of his current venture, Altermune LLC. This work is now being funded by DARPA. Mullis described this idea this way:

It is a method using specific synthetic chemical linkers to divert an immune response from its nominal target to something completely different which you'd 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've 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. was Stuart Linn, who then used Kleppe's material in his own teachings to his students, including Mullis.
The suggestion that Mullis was solely responsible for the idea of using Taq polymerase in the PCR process has been refuted by his co-workers at the time. However, other scientists have said that "the full potential [ofPCR] wasn't realized" until Mullis' work in 1983, and at least one book has reported that Mullis' colleagues failed to see the potential of the technique when he presented it to them.
Controversies

HIV link to AIDS
Mullis has also drawn controversy for his past association with Peter Duesberg and his denialism about the evidence for the idea that HIV causes AIDS. As the recipient of a Nobel Prize for the PCR technique that's used to measure viral load in people with AIDS, he's often been cited by people within the AIDS denialist movement as someone who supports their views. Mullis wrote in an introduction to Duesberg's Inventing the Aids Virus (1997), "No one has ever proved that HIV causes AIDS. We have not been able to discover any good reasons why most of the people on earth believe that AIDS is a disease caused by a virus called HIV."
Mullis has said of HIV:

"If HIV has been here all along and it can be passed from mother to child, wouldn't it make sense to test for the antibodies in the mothers of anyone who is positive to HIV, especially if that individual isn't showing any signs of disease?... If an HIV-positive woman develops uterine cancer, for example, she's considered to have AIDS. If she's not HIV-positive, she simply has uterine cancer. An HIV-positive man with tuberculosis has AIDS; if he tests negative he simply has tuberculosis. If he lives in Kenya or Colombia, where the test for HIV antibodies is too expensive, he's simply presumed to have the antibodies and therefore AIDS, and therefore he can be treated in the World Health Organization's clinic. It's the only medical help available in some places."

Global warming
Mullis is skeptical about the concern over global warming, disagreeing with the theory that humans are a factor and also disagrees with the idea that CFCs cause ozone depletion.
OJ Simpson Trial
Dr. Mullis was supposed to be an expert witness, on the defendant's side, in the 1995 O. J. Simpson murder case. He witnessed most of the trial but wasn't called on during the trial.
Personal life
Mullis enjoys beach surfing.

Use of LSD

In a Q&A interview published in the September 1994 issue of California Monthly, Mullis said, "Back in the 1960s and early '70s 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." During a symposium held for centenarian Albert Hofmann, 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.

Books authored

The Polymerase Chain Reaction, 1994, with Richard A. Gibbs
Dancing Naked in the Mind Field. 1998, Vintage Books.

Mullis wrote the 1998 autobiography Dancing Naked in the Mind Field, which gives an account of his initial invention of PCR, as well as providing insights into the opinions and experiences of the author. Several examples of supposedly atypical behavior for a scientist, including the use of LSD, belief in astrology, and the belief in an extraterrestrial encounter, are also chronicled within the book.

Awards and honors

1990 - William Allan Memorial Award of the American Society of Human Genetics | Preis Biochemische Analytik of the German Society of Clinical Chemistry and Boehringer Mannheim

1991 - National Biotechnology Award | Gairdner Award | R&D Scientist of the Year

1992 - California Scientist of the Year Award

1993 - Nobel Prize in Chemistry | Japan Prize | Thomas A. Edison Award

1994 - Honorary degree of Doctor of Science from the University of South Carolina

1998 - Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame |

2004 - Honorary degree in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology from the University of Bologna, Italy Ronald H. Brown American Innovator Award Mullis has also received the John Scott Award, given by the City Trusts of Philadelphia to other Nobelists, as well as Thomas Edison and the Wright Brothers.

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