Kary Mullis
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'''Kary Banks Mullis''', Ph.D. (born [[December 28]], [[1944]]) is an American [[biochemistry|biochemist]] and [[Nobel Prize|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 specific [[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]],<ref name="nobelbio">[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1993/mullis-autobio.html Official Nobel Autobiography]</ref> 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.<ref name="biotechnology101">[http://books.google.com/books?id=HarCo_xmABIC&pg=PA184&dq=%22kary+mullis%22&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=Hba9aK4gxxZdBSqM7rFefYcnZOA 'Biotechnology 101'' by Brian Robert Shmaefsky]</ref> He grew up in [[Columbia, South Carolina]],<ref name="biotechnology101"/> where he attended Dreher High School.
Mullis earned a [[Bachelor of Science]] degree in [[chemistry]]<ref name="nobelbio"/> from the [[Georgia Institute of Technology]] in [[Atlanta]] in 1966 and received a [[Ph.D.]] in biochemistry from the [[University of California, Berkeley]] in 1973; his research focused on synthesis and structure of [[protein]]s.<ref name="biotechnology101"/> Following his graduation, Mullis became a postdoctoral fellow in paediatric [[cardiology]] at the [[University of Kansas]] Medical School, going on to complete two years of postdoctoral work in [[pharmaceutical chemistry]] at the [[University of California, San Francisco]].
==Career==
In 1979, Mullis joined the biotechnology company [[Cetus Corporation]] of [[Emeryville, California]],<ref name="biotechnology101"/> where he worked as a [[DNA]] [[chemist]] for seven years. In 1983, while synthesizing oligonucleotides, Mullis invented the technique known as the [[polymerase chain reaction]].<ref>[http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displayStory.cfm?Story_id=2477036 ''The Economist'', 2004]</ref> 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.<ref>[http://karymullis.com/bio.html Kary Mullis' biography]</ref>
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.<ref>[http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=HL2GySNR8dj13v4D64WDGhlzhN8Fkspv6nJF6JwngX1NzhyfwZlK!930663388?docId=5002303854 ''The Hastings Center Report'', 1998]</ref>
===PCR and other inventions===
{{main|Taq Polymerase|History of polymerase chain reaction}}
In 1983, Mullis was working for Cetus. That spring, while driving his scooter and not watching the lines on the highway,<ref name="lifeonedge">[http://books.google.com/books?id=J5IwomfEGiEC&pg=PA103&dq=%22kary+mullis%22&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=wmUklKKybqYUUVpxCD_bTSAzfuk ''Life on the Edge: Amazing Creatures Thriving in Extreme Environments'' by Michael Gross]</ref> 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:
<blockquote>''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.''<ref name="nobelbio"/></blockquote>
===Accreditation of the PCR technique===
Some controversy surrounds the balance of credit that should be given to Mullis versus the team at [[Cetus Corp.|Cetus]].{{Fact|date=October 2007}} 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 [[Hoffmann-La Roche|Roche Molecular Systems]].
The main principles of [[PCR]] were described in 1971 by Kjell Kleppe, a Norwegian scientist, and some have asserted that Kleppe has a better claim to the invention.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} Together with 1968 Nobel Prize laureate [[H. Gobind Khorana]], Kleppe released a 20-page research paper on PCR in the 1971 ''[[Journal of Molecular Biology]]''. As early as June 18, 1969, Kleppe presented his work at the Gordon Conference in [[New Hampshire]]. Using repair replication (the principle of PCR), he duplicated and then quadrupled a small synthetic molecule with the help of two primers and DNA-polymerase. Among the attendees<ref>(according to [[Arthur Kornberg]] in interview)</ref> 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.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} However, other scientists have said that "the full potential [of PCR] was not realized" until Mullis' work in 1983,<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=dexRnDtLlWUC&pg=PA20&dq=%22kary+mullis%22+%2B+%22kjell+kleppe%22&sig=4aZnDD-PS1YmIvx-pfaV133xp3g ''Artificial DNA: Methods and Applications'' by Yury E. Khudyakov, Howard A. Fields]</ref> and at least one book has reported that Mullis' colleagues failed to see the potential of the technique when he presented it to them.<ref name="lifeonedge"/>
The [[anthropology|anthropologist]] [[Paul Rabinow]] wrote a book on the history of the PCR method in [[1996]] in which he questioned whether or not Mullis "invented" PCR or "merely" came up with the concept of it. Rabinow, a [[Michel Foucault|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, in fact, one of the classic examples of teamwork."<ref>[http://www.hyle.org/journal/issues/4/bilsker.htm Ethnography of a Nobel Prize]</ref>
==Controversies==
===HIV link to AIDS===
Mullis has also drawn controversy{{Fact|date=October 2007}} for his past association with [[Peter Duesberg]] and his controversial position on [[HIV]] and its link to [[AIDS]].<ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1568/is_n2_v26/ai_15473457 ''Reason'', June 1994]</ref> As the recipient of a Nobel Prize for the PCR technique that is used to measure [[viral load]] in people with AIDS. Mullis wrote in an introduction to Duesberg's ''Inventing the Aids Virus'' (1997), "No one has ever proven 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."<ref>[http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-18072672.html ''Insight on the News'', March 11, 1996]</ref>
Mullis has said of HIV:
<blockquote>"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 is not showing any signs of disease?... If an HIV-positive woman develops
[[uterine cancer]], for example, she is considered to have AIDS. If she is 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 is 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."<ref>[http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-79665692.html ''Washington Informer'', May 31, 2000]</ref></blockquote>
===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 [[Chlorofluorocarbon | CFCs]] cause [[ozone depletion]].<ref>''Dancing Naked in the Mind Field''. 1998, Vintage Books p.115</ref>
==Personal life==
Mullis enjoys [[beach]] [[surfing]].<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,91819,00.html ''Time Magazine'', December 13, 2000]</ref></blockquote>
==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, California|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." <ref>{{cite journal | last = Schoch | first = Russell | title = Q&A - A Conversation with Kerry Mullis | journal = California Monthly | volume = 105 | issue = 1 | pages = 20 | publisher = California Alumni Association | location = Berkley, CA | date = September 1994 | url = http://www.alumni.berkeley.edu/Alumni/Cal_Monthly/September_1994/QA_-_A_Conversation_with_Kerry_Mullis.asp | accessdate = 2008-03-11}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2006/01/70015 |title=LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug? |accessdate=2008-03-11 |author=Ann Harrison |date=2006-01-16 |work=Wired |publisher=Wired |quote=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.}}</ref>
==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 <ref>[http://www.invent.org/Hall_Of_Fame/109.html Hall of Fame/Inventor Profile]</ref> |
* 2004 - Honorary degree in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology from the University of Bologna, Italy
Ronald H. Brown American Innovator Award<ref>[http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/speeches/98-18.htm Nobel Prize Winner Among Rondal H. Brown Award Recipients]</ref>
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]].<ref>[http://www.nih.gov/news/NIH-Record/01_09_2001/story04.htm John Scott Award Goes to NIDDK's Bax]</ref>
==See also==
* [[AIDS denialism]]
* [[Global warming controversy]]
* [[Nobel Prize controversies]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Additional sources==
* Celia Farber, "[http://www.virusmyth.net/aids/data/cfmullis.htm Interview Kary Mullis]", ''[[Spin magazine|Spin]]'' (July 1994). (Focuses on his position regarding HIV and AIDS.)
* Anthony Liversidge, "[http://web.archive.org/web/20010121194200/http://omnimag.com/archives/interviews/mullis.html Kary Mullis, the great gene machine]", ''[[Omni (magazine)|Omni]]'' magazine (April 1992).
* Kary Mullis, ''Dancing Naked in the Mind Field'' ([[Pantheon Books]], 1998). ISBN 0-679-77400-9
*[[Paul Rabinow]], ''Making PCR: a story of biotechnology'' (University of Chicago Press, 1996). ISBN 0-226-70147-6
*Charles A. Thomas Jr., Kary B. Mullis, and [[Phillip E. Johnson]], "WHAT CAUSES AIDS? It's An Open Question" [http://www.virusmyth.net/aids/data/kmreason.htm ''Reason'' (June 1994)].
==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* Sarah Klipfel's [http://old.valleyadvocate.com/hiv-aids/i980714.html interview with Kary Mullis], July 14, 1998. Focuses on his position regarding HIV and AIDS.
*[http://www.karymullis.com/ Kary Mullis's personal website]
*[http://gtalumni.org/news/magazine/sum94/mullis.html Georgia Tech alumni site] Article on Mullis as "Georgia Tech's only Nobel Laureate."
*[http://www.salon.com/health/feature/2000/03/29/mullis/ "Nobel Dude"] A Salon.com writer tries to make sense of Mullis' place in the world.
*[http://www.lrb.co.uk/v21/n13/shap01_.html "Nobel Savage"] London Review of Books review of ''Dancing Naked in the Mind Field''.
*The Norwegian State Research Counsel online version of [http://forskningsradet.ravn.no/bibliotek/forskning/199302/1993020603.html an interview in the Norwegian scientific journal "Research" with Ruth Kleppe Aakvaag] (Wife of Kjell Kleppe)
{{Nobel Prize in Chemistry Laureates 1976-2000}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mullis, Kary Banks}}
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American biochemists]]
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Chemistry]]
[[Category:AIDS denialism]]
[[Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni]]
[[Category:Japan Prize laureates]]
[[Category:Georgia Institute of Technology alumni]]
[[Category:People from North Carolina]]
[[Category:People from Columbia, South Carolina]]
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