Inventor of PCR test wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry

In 1983, Kary Mullis figured out the steps to amplify DNA sequences called process called  polymerase chain reaction (PCR).  On October 13, 1993 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing this procedure. [watch] [1]

His prizes and patents can be found here.

Kary Mullis said PCR test is used to “make a whole lotta somethin’ out of somethin’, and the “PCR test, if you do it well, you can find almost anything.”

PCR tests are being used to “diagnose” COVID-19 disease, in both symptomatic and asymptomatic (healthy) people to determine if they are infectious.  The PCR test kits are not standardised, each one uses a different, tiny fragment of the SARS-CoV-2 virus genome, it doesn’t test for the whole virus and it cannot determine if the fragment is part of a viable infectious pathogen. [2]  Greater than 20 cycles are problematic, 45 cycles was recommended for SARS-CoV-2 testing protocol.

The PCR technique can produce a billion copies of the target sequence in just a few hours. [3]