View source for Kary Mullis

{{Short description|American biochemist (1944–2019)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2016}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name              = Kary Mullis
| image             = Kary Mullis.jpg
| image_size        = 
| caption           = Mullis in 2006
| birth_name        = Kary Banks Mullis
| birth_date        = {{Birth date|1944|12|28}}
| birth_place       = [[Lenoir, North Carolina]], U.S.
| death_date        = {{Death date and age|2019|08|07|1944|12|28}}
| death_place       = [[Newport Beach, California]], U.S.
| field             = [[Molecular biology]]
| workplaces  = [[Cetus Corporation]], [[Emeryville, California]]; Xytronyx, Inc., San Diego
| thesis_title      = Schizokinen: structure and synthetic work
| thesis_url        = 
| thesis_year       = 1973
| education         = [[Georgia Institute of Technology]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])<br />[[University of California, Berkeley]] ([[PhD]])
| doctoral_advisor  = [[Joe Neilands|J. B. Neilands]]
| doctoral_students = 
| website           = {{URL|karymullis.com}}
| known_for         = Invention of [[polymerase chain reaction]]<br>[[TaqMan]]
| prizes            = {{Nowrap|[[William Allan Award]] {{Small|(1990)}}<br />[[Robert Koch Prize]] (1992)<br />[[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] (1993)<br />[[Japan Prize]] (1993)<ref name="Laureates">{{cite web |url=http://www.japanprize.jp/en/laureates_by_year1990.html |title=Laureates of the Japan Prize |publisher=Japan Prize Foundation |access-date=13 December 2021}}</ref>
}}
| religion          = 
| footnotes         = <!-- |parents=Cecil Banks Mullis and Bernice Alberta Barker Mullis<ref name="Nobel bio" /> unsuppored parameter -->
}}

'''Kary Banks Mullis''' (December 28, 1944{{dash}}August 7, 2019) was an American [[biochemist]]. In recognition of his role in the invention of the [[polymerase chain reaction]] (PCR) technique, he shared the 1993 [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] with [[Michael Smith (chemist)|Michael Smith]]<ref name="Shampo 2002">{{Cite journal |last1=Shampo |first1=M. A. |last2=Kyle |first2=R. A. |title=Kary B. Mullis{{dash}}Nobel Laureate for procedure to replicate DNA |journal=Mayo Clinic Proceedings |volume=77 |issue=7 |page=606 |year=2002 |pmid=12108595 |doi=10.4065/77.7.606 |doi-access=}}</ref> and was awarded the [[Japan Prize]] in the same year. PCR became a central technique in [[biochemistry]] and [[molecular biology]], described by ''[[The New York Times]]'' as "highly original and significant, virtually dividing biology into the two epochs of before PCR and after PCR."<ref name="Wade 1998" />

Mullis [[Climate change denial|downplayed humans' role in climate change]], expressed [[HIV/AIDS denialism|doubt that HIV is the cause of AIDS]],<ref name="Pineda">{{cite news |last1=Pineda |first1=Dorany |title=Kary Mullis, quirky Nobel laureate whose DNA discovery changed the science world, dies |url=https://www.latimes.com/obituaries/story/2019-08-13/kary-mullis-dna-nobel-prize |work=Los Angeles Times |date=13 August 2019 |url-access=limited}}</ref><ref name="McClain">{{cite news |last1=McClain |first1=Dylan Loeb |title=Kary B. Mullis, 74, Dies; Found a Way to Analyze DNA and Won Nobel |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/15/science/kary-b-mullis-dead.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220103/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/15/science/kary-b-mullis-dead.html |archive-date=2022-01-03 |url-status=live |work=The New York Times |date=15 August 2019 |url-access=limited}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="Arnaud">{{cite news |last1=Arnaud |first1=Celia Henry |title=Kary Mullis dies at age 74 |url=https://cen.acs.org/people/obituaries/Kary-Mullis-dies-age-74/97/web/2019/08 |work=Chemical & Engineering News |date=August 21, 2019}}</ref> and professed a belief in [[astrology]] and the [[paranormal]].{{r|Basterfield 2020|Jarry 2019}} He also practiced [[clandestine chemistry]] by producing [[LSD]]. Mullis's unscientific statements about topics outside his area of expertise have been named by ''[[Skeptical Inquirer]]'' as an instance of "[[Nobel disease]]".{{r|Basterfield 2020}}

== Early life and education ==

Mullis was born in [[Lenoir, North Carolina]], near the [[Blue Ridge Mountains]],<ref name="Nobel bio">{{cite web |last1=Mullis |first1=Kary B. |title=Kary B. Mullis Biographical |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1993/mullis/biographical/ |website=NobelPrize.org |publisher=Nobel Prize Outreach AB |date=n.d. |access-date=July 27, 2010}}</ref> on December 28, 1944, to Cecil Banks Mullis and Bernice Barker Mullis.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1993 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1993/mullis/biographical/ |access-date=2022-04-22 |website=NobelPrize.org |language=en-US}}</ref> His family had a background in farming in this rural area. As a child, Mullis said, he was interested in observing organisms in the countryside.<ref name="Shmaefsky 2006">{{Cite book |last=Shmaefsky |first=Brian Robert |page=184 |title=Biotechnology 101 |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-313-33528-0}}</ref> He and his cousins would often taunt livestock by feeding them through electric fences, and Kary was mostly interested in the spiders in his grandparents' basement.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1993 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1993/mullis/biographical/ |access-date=2022-04-22 |website=NobelPrize.org |language=en-US}}</ref> He grew up in [[Columbia, South Carolina]],<ref name="Shmaefsky 2006" /> where he attended [[Dreher High School]],<ref name="Nobel lecture">{{cite web |last1=Mullis |first1=Kary |title=Nobel Lecture, December 8, 1993: The Polymerase Chain Reaction |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1993/mullis/lecture/ |website=NobelPrize.org}}</ref> graduating in the class of 1962. He recalled his interest in chemistry beginning when he learned how to chemically synthesize and build solid fuel propulsion rockets as a high school student during the 1960s.<ref>{{cite AV media |people=Mullis, Kary |url=https://www.ted.com/talks/kary_mullis_play_experiment_discover/transcript |title=Play! Experiment! Discover! |website=TED.com |date=February 2002 |type=video with transcript |access-date=May 9, 2016}}</ref>

He earned a Bachelor of Science in [[chemistry]]<ref name="Nobel bio" /> from the [[Georgia Institute of Technology]] in [[Atlanta]] in 1966, during which time he married his first wife, Richards Haley, and started a business.<ref name="Yoffe 1994">{{Cite magazine |last=Yoffe |first=Emily |author-link=Emily Yoffe |magazine=Esquire |title=Is Kary Mullis God? (Or Just the Big Kahuna?) |volume=122 |number=1 |date=July 1994 |pages=68–75 |issn=0194-9535 |url=https://classic.esquire.com/article/1994/7/1/is-kary-mullis-god-or-just-the-big-kahuna |url-access=subscription |archive-date=6 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206055832/https://classic.esquire.com/article/1994/7/1/is-kary-mullis-god-or-just-the-big-kahuna |url-status=live}}</ref> He earned his PhD in 1973 in [[biochemistry]] at the [[University of California, Berkeley]] (UC Berkeley), in [[Joe Neilands|J. B. Neilands]]' laboratory, which focused on synthesis and structure of bacterial iron transporter molecules.<ref name="Mullis 1973">{{Cite thesis |first=Kary Banks |last=Mullis |title=Schizokinen: Structure and Synthetic Work |date=December 1973 |publisher=University of California, Berkeley |type=doctoral thesis |oclc=17971376}}</ref> Although he published a sole-author paper in ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' in the field of [[astrophysics]] in 1968,<ref name="Mullis 1968">{{Cite journal |last=Mullis |first=Kary |date=May 1968 |title=Cosmological Significance of Time Reversal |journal=Nature |volume=218 |issue=5142 |pages=663–664 |doi=10.1038/218663b0 |bibcode=1968Natur.218..663M |s2cid=4151884 |issn=1476-4687}}</ref> he struggled to pass his oral exams (with a colleague recalling that "He didn’t get his propositions right. He didn’t know general biochemistry"), and his dissertation was accepted only after several friends pitched in to "cut all the whacko stuff out of it" while his advisor lobbied the committee to reconsider its initial decision.<ref name="McDonald">{{Cite magazine |last=McDonald |first=Coby |date=Winter 2019 |title=Intolerable Genius: Berkeley's Most Controversial Nobel Laureate |magazine=California Magazine |url=https://alumni.berkeley.edu/california-magazine/winter-2019/intolerable-genius-berkeleys-most-controversial-nobel-laureate |access-date=2021-08-24 |publisher=Cal Alumni Association |oclc=939087276}}</ref>

His doctoral dissertation was on the structure of the bacterial [[siderophore]] schizokinen.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mullis |first1=Kary B. |last2=Pollack |first2=J. R. |last3=Neilands |first3=J. B. |year=1971 |title=Structure of schizokinen, An iron-transport compound from Bacillus megaterium |journal=Biochemistry |volume=10 |issue=26 |pages=4894–4898 |doi=10.1021/bi00802a010 |pmid=4332462 |issn=0006-2960}}</ref> J. B. Neilands was known for his groundbreaking work on siderophores, and Mullis was a part of that with his characterization of schizokinen.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kary Mullis |url=https://www.k-state.edu/bmb/seminars/hageman/2013-Mullis.html |access-date=2021-08-08 |website=www.k-state.edu}}</ref> Following his graduation, Mullis completed postdoctoral fellowships in pediatric [[cardiology]] at the [[University of Kansas Medical Center]] (1973–1977) and [[pharmaceutical chemistry]] at the [[University of California, San Francisco]] (1977–1979).<ref name=":2">[http://www.karymullis.com/pdf/karymullis-cv.pdf CV 2009] karymullis.com</ref>

== Career ==

After receiving his doctorate, Mullis briefly left science to write fiction before accepting the University of Kansas fellowship.<ref name="Yoffe 1994" /> During his postdoctoral work, he managed a bakery for two years.<ref name="Wade 1998">{{Cite news |last=Wade |first=Nicholas |title=Scientist at Work/Kary Mullis; After the 'Eureka', a Nobelist Drops Out |date=September 15, 1998 |work=The New York Times |department=Science Times |pages=F1, F5 |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9802E7DD1331F936A2575AC0A96E958260 |url-access=limited}}</ref> Mullis returned to science at the encouragement of UC Berkeley friend and colleague Thomas White, who secured Mullis's UCSF position and later helped Mullis land a position with the biotechnology company [[Cetus Corporation]] of [[Emeryville, California]].<ref name="Shmaefsky 2006" /><ref name="Wade 1998" /> Despite little experience in [[molecular biology]], Mullis worked as a [[DNA]] [[chemist]] at Cetus for seven years, ultimately serving as head of the DNA synthesis lab under White, then the firm's director of molecular and biological research; it was there, in 1983, that Mullis invented the [[polymerase chain reaction]] (PCR) procedure.<ref name="DNA's detective story">{{Cite news |author1=<!--Staff writer; no byline--> |url=https://www.economist.com/technology-quarterly/2004/03/13/dnas-detective-story |title=DNA's detective story |newspaper=The Economist |series=Technology Quarterly |date=March 13, 2004 |issn=0013-0613 |url-access=limited}}</ref>

Mullis acquired a reputation for erratic behavior at Cetus, once threatening to bring a gun to work; he also engaged in "public lovers' quarrels" with his then-girlfriend (a fellow chemist at the company) and "nearly came to blows with another scientist" at a staff party, according to ''[[California Magazine]]''.{{r|McDonald}} White recalled: "It definitely put me in a tough spot. His behavior was so outrageous that the other scientists thought that the only reason I didn't fire him outright was that he was a friend of mine."<ref name="McDonald"/>

After resigning from Cetus in 1986, Mullis served as director of molecular biology for Xytronyx, Inc. in [[San Diego]] for two years. While inventing a UV-sensitive ink at Xytronyx, he became skeptical of the existence of the [[ozone hole]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

Thereafter, Mullis worked intermittently as a consultant for multiple corporations and institutions on nucleic acid chemistry and as an [[expert witness]] specializing in [[DNA profiling]].<ref name=":2" /><ref name="Wade 1998" /> In 1992, Mullis founded a business to sell pieces of jewelry containing the amplified DNA of deceased famous people such as [[Elvis Presley]] and [[Marilyn Monroe]].<ref name="Gross 2001" /><ref name="Nelkin 1998">{{Cite journal |title=Homo Economicus: Commercialization of Body Tissue in the Age of Biotechnology |journal=The Hastings Center Report |last2=Andrews |first2=Lori |last1=Nelkin |first1=Dorothy |volume=28 |issue=5 |date=September–October 1998 |pages=30–39 |doi=10.2307/3528230 |jstor=3528230 |pmid=11656768 |issn=1552-146X}}</ref> In the same year, he also founded Atomic Tags in [[La Jolla, California]]. The venture sought to develop technology using atomic-force microscopy and bar-coded antibodies tagged with heavy metals to create highly multiplexed, parallel immunoassays.

Mullis was a member of the [[USA Science and Engineering Festival]]'s Advisory Board.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.usasciencefestival.org/about/advisors |title=Advisors |publisher=USA science festival |access-date=July 27, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100421005310/http://www.usasciencefestival.org/about/advisors/ |archive-date=April 21, 2010 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> In 2014, he was named a distinguished researcher at the [[Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute]] in [[Oakland, California]].<ref name="Biography">{{cite web |url=http://www.karymullis.com/biography.shtml |title=Biography |website=Karymullis.com |access-date=May 9, 2016 |archive-date=December 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191226022355/http://www.karymullis.com/biography.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and other inventions ===

{{Main|Taq polymerase|History of polymerase chain reaction}}
In 1983, Mullis was working for Cetus Corporation as a chemist.<ref name="Yoffe 1994" /> Mullis recalled that, while driving in the vicinity of his country home in [[Mendocino County]] (with his girlfriend, who also was a chemist at Cetus), he had the idea to use a pair of primers to bracket the desired DNA sequence and to copy it using DNA polymerase; a technique that would allow rapid amplification of a small stretch of DNA and become a standard procedure in molecular biology laboratories.<ref name="Yoffe 1994" /> Longtime professional benefactor and supervisor Thomas White reassigned Mullis from his usual projects to concentrate on PCR full-time after the technique was met with skepticism by their colleagues.{{r|Yoffe 1994|McDonald}} Mullis succeeded in demonstrating PCR on December 16, 1983, but the staff remained circumspect as he continued to produce ambiguous results amid alleged methodological problems, including a perceived lack of "appropriate controls and repetition."{{r|Yoffe 1994|McDonald}} In his Nobel Prize lecture, he remarked that the December 16 breakthrough did not make up for his girlfriend breaking up with him: "I was sagging as I walked out to my little silver [[Honda Civic]]. Neither [assistant] Fred, empty [[Beck's Brewery|Beck's]] bottles, nor the sweet smell of the dawn of the age of PCR could replace Jenny. I was lonesome."<ref name="Yoffe 1994" />

Other Cetus scientists who were regarded as "top-notch experimentalists",<ref name="McDonald"/> including Randall Saiki, Henry Erlich, and [[Norman Arnheim]], were placed on parallel PCR projects to work on determining if PCR could amplify a specific human gene (betaglobin) from genomic DNA. Saiki generated the needed data and Erlich authored the first paper to include use of the technique,<ref name="Wade 1998" /> while Mullis was still working on the paper that would describe PCR itself.<ref name="Yoffe 1994" /> Mullis's 1985 paper with Saiki and Erlich, "Enzymatic Amplification of β-globin Genomic Sequences and Restriction Site Analysis for Diagnosis of Sickle Cell Anemia" — the polymerase chain reaction invention (PCR) — was honored by a Citation for Chemical Breakthrough Award from the Division of History of Chemistry of the American Chemical Society in 2017.<ref name="breakthrough">{{Cite web |title=Citations for Chemical Breakthrough Awards 2017 Awardees |url=http://www.scs.illinois.edu/~mainzv/HIST/awards/CCB-2017_Awardees.php |publisher=Division of History of Chemistry of the American Chemical Society |access-date=12 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Saiki |first1=R. |last2=Scharf |first2=S. |last3=Faloona |first3=F. |last4=Mullis |first4=K. |last5=Horn |first5=G. |last6=Erlich |first6=H. |last7=Arnheim |first7=N |title=Enzymatic amplification of beta-globin genomic sequences and restriction site analysis for diagnosis of sickle cell anemia |journal=Science |date=20 December 1985 |volume=230 |issue=4732 |pages=1350–1354 |doi=10.1126/science.2999980 |pmid=2999980 |bibcode=1985Sci...230.1350S}}</ref>

A drawback of the technique was that the DNA polymerase in the reaction was destroyed by the high heat used at the start of each replication cycle and had to be replaced. In 1986, Saiki started to use ''[[Thermophilus aquaticus]]'' (Taq) [[DNA polymerase]] to amplify segments of DNA. The Taq polymerase was heat resistant and needed to be added to the reaction only once, making the technique dramatically more affordable and subject to automation. This modification of Mullis's invention revolutionized  biochemistry, molecular biology, [[genetics]], medicine, and [[forensics]]. UC Berkeley biologist David Bilder said, "PCR revolutionized everything. It really superpowered molecular biology—which then transformed other fields, even distant ones like ecology and [[evolution]]. … It’s impossible to overstate PCR’s impact. The ability to generate as much DNA of a specific sequence as you want, starting from a few simple chemicals and some temperature changes—it’s just magical."<ref name="McDonald"/> Although he received a $10,000 bonus from Cetus for the invention, the company's later sale of the patent to [[Roche Molecular Systems]] for $300&nbsp;million would lead Mullis to condemn White and members of the parallel team as "vultures."{{r|Yoffe 1994|McDonald}}

Mullis also invented a UV-sensitive plastic that changes color in response to light.<ref name=SalemBioEncyc>{{cite book |author=Vigue, C.L. |title=Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia: Kary B. Mullis |publisher=Salem Press, a division of EBSCO |date=2021}}</ref>

He founded Altermune LLC in 2011 to pursue new ideas on the immune system.<ref name="Business Wire">{{cite press release |author1=<!--Staff writer; no byline--> |title=Loxbridge and Dr Kary Mullis Announce the Formation of Altermune Technologies with $7m Seed Investment |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110922005770/en/Loxbridge-and-Dr-Kary-Mullis-Announce-the-Formation-of-Altermune-Technologies-with-7m-Seed-Investment |website=Business Wire |date=22 September 2011}}</ref> Mullis described the company's product thusly:
{{Blockquote |style=font-size:100% |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="Nobel bio" />}}

In a [[TED Talk]], Mullis describes how the US government paid $500,000 for Mullis to use this new technology against [[anthrax]]. He said the treatment was 100% effective, compared to the previous anthrax treatment which was 40% effective.<ref name="Mullis Feb 2009">{{Cite AV media |people=Mullis, Kary |url=https://www.ted.com/talks/kary_mullis_a_next_gen_cure_for_killer_infections/transcript |title=A next-gen cure for killer infections |type=video with transcript |website=TED.com |date=February 2009 |access-date=July 27, 2010}}</ref>

Another proof-of-principle of this technology, re-targeting pre-existing antibodies to the surface of a pathogenic strep bacterium using an alpha-gal modified aptamer ("alphamer"), was published in 2015 in collaboration with scientists at the University of California, San Diego.<ref>{{Cite press release |first=Heather |last=Buschman |title=Molecular Homing Beacon Redirects Human Antibodies to Fight Pathogenic Bacteria |url=http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/pressrelease/molecular_homing_beacon_redirects_human_antibodies_to_fight_pathogenic_bact |publisher=[[University of California, San Diego]] |date=May 6, 2015 |access-date=July 6, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |pmid=25940316 |title=Retargeting pre-existing human antibodies to a bacterial pathogen with an alpha-Gal conjugated aptamer |doi=10.1007/s00109-015-1280-4 |pmc=4469262 |volume=93 |issue=6 |year=2015 |journal=J. Mol. Med. |pages=619–31 |last1=Kristian |first1=SA |last2=Hwang |first2=JH |last3=Hall |first3=B |last4=Leire |first4=E |last5=Iacomini |first5=J |last6=Old |first6=R |last7=Galili |first7=U |last8=Roberts |first8=C |last9=Mullis |first9=KB |last10=Westby |first10=M |last11=Nizet |first11=V}}</ref> Mullis said he was inspired to fight this particular strep bacterium because it had killed his friend.<ref name="Mullis Feb 2009" />

=== Accreditation of the PCR technique ===

{{See also|History of polymerase chain reaction}}

A concept similar to that of PCR had been described before Mullis's work. Nobel laureate [[H. Gobind Khorana]] and [[Kjell Kleppe]], a Norwegian scientist, authored a paper 17 years earlier describing a process they termed "repair replication" in the ''[[Journal of Molecular Biology]]''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Kleppe |first1=K. |last2=Ohtsuka |first2=E. |last3=Kleppe |first3=R. |last4=Molineux |first4=I. |last5=Khorana |first5=H. G. |author-link5=Har Gobind Khorana |year=1971 |title=Studies on polynucleotides *1, *2XCVI. Repair replication of short synthetic DNA's as catalyzed by DNA polymerases |journal=Journal of Molecular Biology |volume=56 |issue=2 |pages=341–361 |doi=10.1016/0022-2836(71)90469-4 |pmid=4927950}}</ref> Using repair replication, Kleppe duplicated and then quadrupled a small synthetic molecule with the help of two primers and DNA polymerase. The method developed by Mullis used repeated thermal cycling, which allowed the rapid and exponential amplification of large quantities of any desired DNA sequence from an extremely complex template. Later a heat-stable DNA polymerase was incorporated into the process.

His co-workers at Cetus contested the notion that Mullis was solely responsible for the idea of using [[Taq polymerase]] in PCR.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}} However, biochemist [[Richard T. Pon]] has written that the "full potential [of PCR] was not realized" until Mullis's work in 1983,<ref name="Pon 2002">{{Cite book |last=Pon |first=Richard T. |editor-last1=Khudyakov |editor-first1=Yury E. |editor-last2=Fields |editor-first2=Howard A. |title=Artificial DNA: Methods and Applications |page=20 |isbn=978-1-4200-4016-6 |year=2002 |publisher=[[CRC Press]] |location=Boca Raton, Fla. |chapter=Chemical Synthesis of Oligonucleotides: From Dream to Automation}}</ref> and journalist [[Michael Gross (science writer)|Michael Gross]] states that Mullis's colleagues failed to see the potential of the technique when he presented it to them.<ref name="Gross 2001">{{Cite book |title=Life on the Edge: Amazing Creatures Thriving in Extreme Environments |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-7382-0445-1 |last1=Gross |first1=Michael |publisher=Basic Books |location=New York |page=103 |url=https://archive.org/details/lifeonedgeamazin0000gros_t5j2/page/103/mode/1up?view=theater |url-access=registration}}</ref>{{Synthesis inline|date=December 2022}} As a result, some controversy surrounds the balance of credit that should be given to Mullis versus the team at Cetus.<ref name="Wade 1998" /> 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&nbsp;million for Cetus when the company sold the patent to Roche Molecular Systems. After [[DuPont (1802–2017)|DuPont]] lost out to Roche on that sale, the company unsuccessfully disputed Mullis's patent on the alleged grounds that PCR had been previously described in 1971.<ref name="Yoffe 1994" /> Mullis and Erlich took Cetus' side in the case, and Khorana refused to testify for DuPont; the jury upheld Mullis's patent in 1991.<ref name="Yoffe 1994" /> However, in February 1999, the patent of Hoffman-La Roche (United States Patent No. 4,889,818) was found by the courts to be unenforceable, after Dr. Thomas Kunkel testified in the case ''Hoffman-La Roche v. Promega Corporation''<ref name=Roche_v_Promega>{{Cite web |url=https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/5914b97badd7b0493478b532 |title=Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc. v. Promega Corporation, (N.D.Cal. 2001) |publisher=Casemine |author=United States District Court, N.D. California. |date=July 26, 2001 |access-date=April 8, 2018}}</ref> on behalf of the defendants ([[Promega Corporation]]) that "prior art" (i.e. articles on the subject of Taq polymerase published by other groups prior to the work of Gelfand and Stoffel, and their patent application covering the purification of Taq polymerase) existed, in the form of two articles, published by Alice Chien et al. in 1976,<ref name="Chien">{{Cite journal |last1=Chien |first1=A. |last2=Edgar |first2=D.B. |last3=Trela |first3=J.M. |title=Deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase from the extreme thermophile Thermus aquaticus |journal=J. Bacteriol. |volume=127 |issue=3 |pages=1550–1557 |year=1976 |pmid=8432 |pmc=232952 |doi=10.1128/jb.127.3.1550-1557.1976}}</ref> and A. S. Kaledin et al. in 1980.<ref name="Kaledin">{{Cite journal |last1=Kaledin |first1=A.S. |last2=Sliusarenko |first2=A.G. |last3=Gorodetskii |first3=S.I. |title=Isolation and properties of DNA polymerase from extreme thermophylic bacteria Thermus aquaticus YT-1 |journal=[[Biokhimiia]] |volume=45 |issue=4 |pages=644–651 |year=1980 |pmid=7378495}}</ref>

The anthropologist [[Paul Rabinow]] wrote a book on the history of the PCR method in 1996,<ref name="Bilsker 1998">{{Cite journal |first=Richard |last=Bilsker |url=http://www.hyle.org/journal/issues/4/bilsker.htm |title=Ethnography of a Nobel Prize |journal=Hyle: International Journal for Philosophy of Chemistry |volume=4 |issue=2 |year=1998 |pages=167–169 |issn=1433-5158 |access-date=July 27, 2010}}</ref> in which he discusses whether Mullis "invented" PCR or merely came up with the concept of it.<ref name="Rabinow p4">{{cite book |last=Rabinow |first=Paul |title=Making PCR: A Story of Biotechnology |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1996 |pages=4–5 |isbn=0-226-70147-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/makingpcrstoryof00rabi/page/4/mode/1up?view=theater |url-access=registration}}</ref>{{Explain|date=December 2022}}

== Views on HIV/AIDS and climate change ==
{{See also|HIV/AIDS denialism|Climate change denial}}

In his 1998 autobiography, Mullis expressed disagreement with the scientific evidence for humans' role in [[climate change]] and [[ozone depletion]].<ref name="Carlson 1998">{{cite news |last1=Carlson |first1=Peter |title=Nobel Chemist Kary Mullis, Making Waves as a Mind Surfer |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1998/11/03/nobel-chemist-kary-mullis-making-waves-as-a-mind-surfer/31e7e720-44e4-49ff-8458-a9822cdcb47e/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 3, 1998 |page=D1 |issn=0190-8286 |url-access=limited |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923234455/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1998/11/03/nobel-chemist-kary-mullis-making-waves-as-a-mind-surfer/31e7e720-44e4-49ff-8458-a9822cdcb47e/ |archive-date=23 September 2021}}</ref><ref name="Capricorn">{{cite book |last=Mullis |first=Kary |title=Dancing Naked in the Mind Field |publisher=Pantheon Books |location=New York |edition=1st |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-679-77400-6 |pages=143–53 |chapter=I am a Capricorn |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/dancingnakedinmi00mull/page/143/mode/1up?view=theater |chapter-url-access=registration}}</ref> Mullis claimed that scientific theories about ozone depletion and climate change were the product of scientists and government bureaucrats conspiring to secure funding,{{r|Winter 2011}} saying that "science is being practiced by people who are dependent on being paid for what they are going to find out" instead of searching for the truth.<ref name="Yoffe 1994" /> ''[[The New York Times]]'' listed Mullis as one of several scientists who, after success in their area of research, go on to make unfounded, sometimes bizarre statements in other areas, especially in regard to contradicting the [[scientific consensus on climate change]] and ozone depletion.<ref name="Johnson Oct 2007">{{Cite news |last=Johnson |first=George |date=October 28, 2007 |title=Bright Scientists, Dim Notions |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/weekinreview/28johnson.html |access-date=August 6, 2010 |url-access=limited}}</ref>

Mullis also questioned the scientific validity of the link between [[HIV and AIDS]], despite never having done any scientific research on either subject,<ref name="Nattrass 2009">{{cite book |last1=Nattrass |first1=Nicoli |last2=Kalichman |first2=Seth C. |display-editors=1 |editor1-last=Rohleder |editor1-first=Paul |editor2-last=Swartz |editor2-first=Leslie |editor3-last=Kalichman |editor3-first=Seth C. |editor4-last=Chisamu Simbayi |editor4-first=Leickness |title=HIV/AIDS in South Africa 25 Years On: Psychosocial Perspectives |date=2009 |publisher=Springer |location=New York |isbn=978-1-4419-0306-8 |chapter=The Politics and Psychology of AIDS Denialism |page=124}}</ref><ref name="SI">{{Cite magazine |last=Nattrass |first=Nicoli |date=September–October 2007 |title=AIDS Denialism vs. Science |url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/2007/09/aids-denialism-vs-science/ |magazine=Skeptical Inquirer |volume=31 |issue=5 |issn=0194-6730}}</ref><ref name="Winter 2011">{{cite web |last1=Winter |first1=David |date=8 Oct 2011 |title=The Nobel disease |url=https://sciblogs.co.nz/the-atavism/2011/10/08/the-nobel-disease/ |website=Sciblogs |department=The Atavism |publisher=Science Media Centre |location=Wellington, New Zealand |archive-date=January 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120135923/https://sciblogs.co.nz/the-atavism/2011/10/08/the-nobel-disease/ |access-date=January 12, 2024 |url-status=live }}</ref> leading [[Seth Kalichman]] and Paroma Basu<ref>[https://www.semanticscholar.org/author/Paroma-Basu/6693725 Paroma-Basu], semanticscholar.org</ref> to call him an AIDS denialist.<ref name="Kalichman 2009a">{{Cite magazine |last=Kalichman |first=Seth |date=November 3, 2009 |title=How to spot an AIDS denialist |url=https://newhumanist.org.uk/articles/2165/how-to-spot-an-aids-denialist |magazine=[[New Humanist]] |access-date=August 14, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Basu">{{Cite journal |last=Basu |first=Paroma |date=June 1, 2005 |title=AIDS denialists back on the upswing |journal=Nature |volume=11 |issue=6 |page=581 |doi=10.1038/nm0605-581b |doi-access=free |pmid=15937451 |s2cid=29361429}}</ref> He wrote that he began to question the AIDS consensus while compiling a report for a project's sponsor and being unable to find a published reference for HIV being the cause of AIDS.{{r|Mullis 1998|pp=173–174}}{{Independent source inline|date=January 2024}} Mullis published an alternative hypothesis for AIDS in 1994,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mullis |first=Kary B. |date=1995 |title=A hypothetical disease of the immune system that may bear some relation to the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome |journal=Genetica |volume=95 |issue=1–3 |pages=195–197 |doi=10.1007/bf01435010 |issn=0016-6707 |pmid=7744261 |s2cid=28158163 |url=http://name.umdl.umich.edu/5571095.0256.021|url-access=subscription }}</ref> claiming that AIDS is an arbitrary diagnosis used when [[HIV antibodies]] are found in a patient's blood.<ref name="Youson">{{Cite news |last=Youson |first=Patricia |title=Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) |date=May 31, 2000 |newspaper=The Washington Informer |issn=0741-9414}}</ref> [[Seth Kalichman]], AIDS researcher and author of ''Denying AIDS'', names Mullis "among the who's who of AIDS pseudoscientists".<ref name="Kalichman 2009b">{{Cite book |last=Kalichman |first=Seth |title=Denying AIDS: Conspiracy Theories, Pseudoscience, and Human Tragedy |publisher=Springer Science+Business Media |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-3877-9476-1 |location=New York |pages=177–178 |chapter=Appendix B: About the HIV/AIDS Denialists}}</ref> Mullis was often cited in the press as a supporter of molecular biologist and AIDS denialist [[Peter Duesberg]].<ref name="Cohen 1994">{{Cite journal |doi=10.1126/science.7992043 |last1=Cohen |first1=Jon |title=The Duesberg phenomenon |journal=Science |volume=266 |issue=5191 |pages=1642–1644 |year=1994 |pmid=7992043 |url=http://www.sciencemag.org/feature/data/cohen/266-5191-1642a.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060615143449/http://www.sciencemag.org/feature/data/cohen/266-5191-1642a.pdf |archive-date=15 June 2006 |bibcode=1994Sci...266.1642C}}</ref> According to ''California Magazine'', Mullis's HIV skepticism influenced [[Thabo Mbeki]]'s denialist policymaking throughout his tenure as president of South Africa from 1999 to 2008, contributing to as many as 330,000 unnecessary deaths.<ref name="McDonald"/>

According to ''[[Skeptical Inquirer]]'', Mullis's statements on HIV/AIDS and human-caused climate change are an instance of "[[Nobel disease]]", i.e. the tendency of some Nobel laureates to go on to embrace ideas that are scientifically implausible, rejected by most scientific experts, and based mostly on anecdotal or uncorroborated evidence.<ref name="Basterfield 2020">{{cite magazine |last1=Basterfield |first1=Candice |last2=Lilienfeld |first2=Scott O. |last3=Bowes |first3=Shauna M. |last4=Costello |first4=Thomas H. |title=The Nobel Disease: When Intelligence Fails to Protect against Irrationality |url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/2020/05/the-nobel-disease-when-intelligence-fails-to-protect-against-irrationality/ |access-date=12 Jan 2024 |magazine=Skeptical Inquirer |date=May–June 2020 |volume=44 |issue=3 |issn=0194-6730}}</ref>

== Use of hallucinogens ==

Mullis practiced [[clandestine chemistry]] throughout his graduate studies, specializing in the synthesis of [[Lysergic acid diethylamide|LSD]]; according to his friend Tom White, "I knew he was a good chemist because he'd been synthesizing hallucinogenic drugs at UC Berkeley."<ref name="McDonald"/> He detailed his experiences synthesizing and testing various psychedelic amphetamines and a difficult trip on [[Diethyltryptamine|DET]] in his autobiography.<ref name="Mullis 1998">{{Cite book |last=Mullis |first=Kary |title=Dancing Naked in the Mind Field |publisher=Pantheon Books |location=New York |edition=1st |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-679-44255-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/dancingnakedinmi00mull/mode/1up?view=theater |url-access=registration}}</ref>{{rp|167–170}} In a Q&A interview published in the September 1994 issue of ''[[California Monthly]]'', Mullis said, "Back in the 1960s and early 1970s 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."<ref name="Schoch">{{Cite magazine |last=Schoch |first=Russell |title=Q&A – A Conversation with Kerry Mullis |magazine=California Monthly |volume=105 |issue=1 |page=20 |publisher=California Alumni Association |location=Berkeley, California |date=September 1994 |oclc=939087276}}</ref>{{verify source|date=December 2019}} During a symposium held for centenarian [[Albert Hofmann]], Hofmann said Mullis had told him that LSD had "helped him develop the polymerase chain reaction that helps amplify specific DNA sequences".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2006/01/70015 |title=LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug? |access-date=March 11, 2008 |author=Harrison, Ann |date=January 16, 2006 |magazine=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>

== Interest in the supernatural ==
Mullis expressed interest in the [[paranormal]]. For example, he said that he had witnessed the "[[Ghost|non-substantial form]]" of his deceased grandfather, even offering it a beer.<ref name="Jarry 2019">{{cite web |url=https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/technology-history/man-who-photocopied-dna-and-also-saw-talking-fluorescent-raccoon |title=The Man Who Photocopied DNA and Also Saw a Talking Fluorescent Raccoon |first=Jonathan |last=Jarry |date=August 15, 2019 |access-date=12 Jan 2024 |publisher=McGill University, Office for Science and Society}}</ref> In his autobiography, Mullis professed a belief in [[astrology]] and wrote about an encounter with a fluorescent, talking raccoon that he suggested might have been an [[extraterrestrial alien]].{{r|Basterfield 2020|Jarry 2019|Winter 2011|Carlson 1998}}

== Personal life ==

Mullis was a [[Surfing|surfer]] as well as a musician,{{r|Carlson 1998}}<ref name="Golden 2000">{{cite magazine |last1=Golden |first1=Frederic |title=The Worst And The Brightest |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,91819-2,00.html |magazine=Time |date=13 December 2000 |url-access=limited |access-date=September 15, 2021 |archive-date=September 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210915011115/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,91819-2,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Yoffe 1994" /> being both a guitarist and vocalist. He married four times,<ref name="Yoffe 1994" /> and he had three children by two of his wives. At the time of his death, he had two grandchildren and was survived by his fourth wife, Nancy (''née'' Cosgrove<ref name="Times Oct 2019">{{cite news |author1=<!--Staff writer, no byline--> |title=Kary Mullis: Obituaries – Nobel prizewinning biochemist and 'surfer dude' whose LSD-taking lifestyle was considered too lurid even for the OJ Simpson trial |work=[[The Times]] |publication-place=London |date=9 October 2019 |page=53 |issn=0140-0460 |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/kary-mullis-obituary-6bsmfpk53 |url-access=limited}}</ref><ref name="Thompson">{{cite news |last1=Thompson |first1=M. Dion |title=A chemical balance A calmer Kary Mullis, Nobel-winning scientist and hallucinogen gourmand, brings his theories about gonzo genetics and random nature to Baltimore. |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1998-10-13-1998286002-story.html |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=13 October 1998 |page=1E |issn=1930-8965}}</ref>).
Mullis died on August 7, 2019, at his home in [[Newport Beach, California]],{{r|McClain}}<ref name="Clark">{{Cite news |first=Debbie |last=Clark |url=https://www.postandcourier.com/news/nobel-prize-winning-chemist-who-grew-up-in-sc-capital/article_f69354e6-baa3-11e9-b4d2-e7b21bfe5bfd.html |title=Nobel Prize-winning chemist who grew up in SC capital dies at 74 |work=[[The Post and Courier]] |location=Charleston, S.C. |date=August 9, 2019 |access-date=August 9, 2019}}</ref> from complications of [[pneumonia]].{{r|McClain|McDonald}}<ref name="MyNewsLA">{{Cite news |url=https://mynewsla.com/education/2019/08/08/nobel-winner-kary-banks-mullis-who-revolutionized-dna-research-dies-in-o-c/ |title=Nobel Winner Kary Banks Mullis, Who Revolutionized DNA Research, Dies in O.C. |website=MyNewsLA.com |date=August 8, 2019 |access-date=August 11, 2019}}</ref>

== Selected publications ==
* {{Cite journal |last=Mullis |first=Kary |date=May 1968 |title=Cosmological Significance of Time Reversal |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=218 |issue=5142 |pages=663–664 |bibcode=1968Natur.218..663M |doi=10.1038/218663b0 |issn=0028-0836 |s2cid=4151884}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Mullis |first1=K. |last2=Faloona |first2=F. |last3=Scharf |first3=S. |last4=Saiki |first4=R. |last5=Horn |first5=G. |last6=Erlich |first6=H. |year=1986 |title=Specific Enzymatic Amplification of DNA In Vitro: The Polymerase Chain Reaction |journal=[[Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology]] |volume=51 |pages=263–273 |doi=10.1101/SQB.1986.051.01.032 |issn=0091-7451 |pmid=3472723 |s2cid=26180176}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Mullis |first=Kary B. |date=April 1990 |title=The Unusual Origin of the Polymerase Chain Reaction |journal=Scientific American |volume=262 |issue=4 |pages=56–65 |bibcode=1990SciAm.262d..56M |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0490-56 |issn=0036-8733 |pmid=2315679}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=woNO4w5HweQC |title=The Polymerase Chain Reaction |date=1994 |publisher=[[Birkhäuser Boston]] |isbn=978-0-8176-3750-7 |editor-last=Mullis |editor-first=Kary B. |location=Boston, MA |editor-last2=Ferré |editor-first2=François |editor-last3=Gibbs |editor-first3=Richard A.}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Mullis |first=Kary B. |date=March 1995 |title=A hypothetical disease of the immune system that may bear some relation to the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome |url=http://name.umdl.umich.edu/5571095.0256.021 |journal=[[Genetics (journal)|Genetica]] |volume=95 |issue=1–3 |pages=195–197 |doi=10.1007/BF01435010 |issn=0016-6707 |pmid=7744261 |s2cid=28158163|url-access=subscription }}
* {{Cite book |last=Mullis |first=Kary B. |title=Dancing Naked in the Mind Field |date=1998 |publisher=[[Pantheon Books]] |isbn=978-0-679-44255-4 |location=New York}}
** Mullis's autobiography gives his account of the commercial development of [[polymerase chain reaction|PCR]], as well as providing insights into his opinions and experiences. In the book, Mullis chronicles his romantic relationships, use of LSD, synthesis and self-testing of novel psychoactive substances, belief in [[astrology]] and an encounter with an [[Extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrial]] in the form of a fluorescent raccoon.{{r|Carlson 1998}}

== Awards and honors ==
* 1990: [[William Allan Award|William Allan Memorial Award]] of the American Society of Human Genetics,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ashg.org/awards/pastrecipients.shtml#allan |title=Past Recipients, William Allan Award |publisher=American Society of Human Genetics |access-date=August 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190804212043/http://www.ashg.org/awards/pastrecipients.shtml#allan |archive-date=August 4, 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Preis Biochemische Analytik of the German Society of Clinical Chemistry and [[Boehringer Mannheim]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.dgkl.de/en/die-dgkl/awards/preis-fuer-biochemische-analytik/preistraeger/ |title=Award Winners 1970{{dash}}2017 |publisher=German Society for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine |access-date=August 14, 2019 |archive-date=August 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190814112648/https://www.dgkl.de/en/die-dgkl/awards/preis-fuer-biochemische-analytik/preistraeger/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* 1991: National Biotechnology Award,<ref name="Newton p163">{{Cite book |title=Forensic Chemistry |first=David E. |last=Newton |date=2007 |isbn=978-1-4381-0976-3 |publisher=Facts On File |location=New York |page=163}}</ref> [[Canada Gairdner International Award|Gairdner Award]],<ref name="Newton p163" /> R&D Scientist of the Year,<ref name="Newton p163" /> [[John Scott Award]] of the City Trusts of [[Philadelphia]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.garfield.library.upenn.edu/johnscottaward(full).html |title=The John Scott Award Recipients: 2007 |website=garfield.library.upenn.edu |publisher=University of Pennsylvania |date=October 28, 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100701201455/http://www.garfield.library.upenn.edu/johnscottaward%28full%29.html |archive-date=July 1, 2010}}</ref>
* 1992: California Scientist of the Year Award<ref name="Newton p163" />
* 1992: [[Robert Koch Prize]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.robert-koch-stiftung.de/index.php?article_id=15&clang=1 |title=Robert Koch Award |publisher=Robert-Koch-Stiftung |access-date=August 14, 2019 |archive-date=February 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190201013319/https://www.robert-koch-stiftung.de/index.php?article_id=15&clang=1 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* 1993: Nobel Prize in Chemistry, [[Japan Prize]],<ref name="Laureates" /> Thomas A. Edison Award<ref name="Newton p163" />
* 1994: Honorary degree of Doctor of Science from the [[University of South Carolina]]<ref name="Biography" />
* 1994: Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org |publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]] |url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#science-exploration}}</ref>
* 1998: Inducted into the [[National Inventors Hall of Fame]],<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.invent.org/Hall_Of_Fame/109.html |title=Hall of Fame |contribution=Inventor Profile |publisher=Invent.org |date=December 28, 1944 |access-date=July 27, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706045503/http://www.invent.org/hall_of_fame/109.html |archive-date=July 6, 2010 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Ronald H. Brown American Innovator Award<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/speeches/98-18.htm |title=Nobel Prize Winner Among Rondal H. Brown Award Recipients |publisher=PTO |place=USA |date=October 13, 1998 |access-date=July 27, 2010 |archive-date=February 20, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220093853/http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/speeches/98-18.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* 2004: Honorary degree in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology from the [[University of Bologna]], Italy<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.almanews.unibo.it/03_04/Html/mullis.htm |title=Laurea ad honorem a Kary Mullis |publisher=University of Bologna |access-date=August 14, 2019 |language=it |archive-date=February 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227064831/http://www.almanews.unibo.it/03_04/Html/mullis.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* 2010: Honorary degree of Doctor honoris causa in the field of biological sciences from [[Masaryk University]], Czech Republic<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.muni.cz/en/about-us/awards/342 |title=Kary Banks Mullis |publisher=Masaryk University |access-date=August 14, 2019}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Biography|Chemistry|History|United States}}
* {{section link|COVID-19 misinformation|PCR testing}}
* [[History of the polymerase chain reaction method]]
* [[List of National Inventors Hall of Fame inductees]]
* [[List of Nobel laureates in Chemistry]]
* [[Nobel Prize controversies]]
** [[Luc Montagnier]], Nobel laureate who has promoted controversial and unverified health claims

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite magazine |first=Anthony |last=Liversidge |url=http://omnimag.com/archives/interviews/mullis.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010121194200/http://omnimag.com/archives/interviews/mullis.html |archive-date=January 21, 2001 |title=Kary Mullis, the great gene machine |magazine=Omni |date=April 1992 |issn=0149-8711}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Kary Mullis}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{official website}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.directoryinventor.com/inventor/03d4659f7b0373002cb929636bca9e48_1.html/ |title=Patent Portfolio of Kary Mullis |website=DirectoryInventor |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130110223017/http://www.directoryinventor.com/inventor/03d4659f7b0373002cb929636bca9e48_1.html/ |archive-date=January 10, 2013 |df=mdy-all}}
* {{Nobelprize|name=Kary B. Mullis}}
* {{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaXKQ70q4KQ |title=The Man Who Took LSD and Changed The World |date=2024-12-26 |last=Veritasium |access-date=2025-01-29 |via=YouTube}}

===Interviews===
* {{Citation |url=http://nobelprize.org/mediaplayer/index.php?id=428 |year=2005 |title=Interview |publisher=Nobel Prize committee}}.

{{Nobel Prize in Chemistry}}
{{1993 Nobel Prize winners}}
{{Japan Prize}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mullis, Kary}}
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:American biochemists]]
[[Category:American libertarians]]
[[Category:American Nobel laureates]]
[[Category:American biotechnologists]]
[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in California]]
[[Category:Georgia Tech alumni]]
[[Category:HIV/AIDS denialists]]
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Chemistry]]
[[Category:People from Lenoir, North Carolina]]
[[Category:American psychedelic drug advocates]]
[[Category:Scientists from North Carolina]]
[[Category:UC Berkeley College of Chemistry alumni]]
[[Category:Writers from Columbia, South Carolina]]
[[Category:Dreher High School alumni]]