December 28, 1944 was a day that marked history in the science world. On that particular day in Lenoir, North Carolina, Kary Banks Mullis was born. Throughout his life, Mullins has received many awards but some of the most important have been the Nobel Prize in chemistry and the Japan award in 1993 for his invention of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). He was even inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame in 1998. Mullis attended many universities such as, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Kansas Medical School, the University of California, San Francisco, and the Georgia Institute of Technology. Mullis has a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry, a Ph.D degree in biochemistry, and he worked in pharmaceutical chemistry. Today, he lives with his wife in Newport Beach, California.
He kept pursuing chemistry as a DNA chemist when he started working for the Cetus Corporation in 1979. While he was there he did research on oligonucleotide synthesis and invented the polymerase chain reaction. The discovery of the polymerase chain reaction in 1985 had a huge impact on science. This has revolutionized research, today it is easier to find genetic defects, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in cells, and DNA comparison can be done much quicker. The process of PCR is not too complicated. It starts off by placing the desired DNA into a test tube, primers are added, the test tube is heated, the DNA double helix separates into two strands, temperature is lowered, and this takes approximately five minutes to complete. Heating and cooling is repeated doubling the number of DNA copies. This innovative technology was bought for $300,000,000. Since the development of PCR, DNA can be duplicated in large quantities in a short period of time. Karymullins.com states, “A method of amplifying DNA, PCR multiplies a single, microscopic strand of the genetic material billions of times within a few hours. The process has multiple applications in medicine, genetics, biotechnology, and forensics. PCR, because of its ability to extract DNA from fossils, is in reality the basis of a new scientific discipline, paleobiology.” Mullins patented some of his inventions those include, the PCR technology and UV-sensitive plastic. The latest patent can make the immune system instantly neutralize invading pathogens and toxins. Over the years he has made multiple publications. The contributions Mullins has made make an impact on medicine until today.
Ernest Ruska was born to Professor Julius Ruska and his wife Elisbeth on the 25th of December, 1906 in Heidelberg, Germany. Ruska studied electronics at the Technical College in Munich. While Ernest was continuing his studies at a Technical College in Berlin, he began to deal with voltage and vacuum technology at the Institute of High Voltage. He worked on the development of a high performance cathode ray oscilloscope. He was interested in the development of materials for the building of vacuum instruments according to the principles of construction. He did experiments on electron rays. His first experiment was an electron lens. Then he worked on polschuh lens, which is still used today in magnetic high- resolution microscopes. He later worked with Dr Knoll and in 1931 they constructed an electron microscope. In 1933, Ruska used the microscope. Which gave better resolution than a simple light microscope. He investigated electron lenses with short focal lengths in Berlin 10 years after putting the microscope to use. Little after, in 1945, 35 institutions had an electron microscope. The development of the electron microscope has made researching cells and organelles more possible than ever before. This microscope makes a significant impact in fields such as microbiology and medicine. With this microscope microbiologist can identify stands of viruses or bacteria to further understand how infections work and to find a way to kill them. They also used it to develop medications. Today, these microscopes are still around and they still keep impacting the world the same way since they first were discovered. Ernst Ruska died on May 25, 1998.