PCR, DNA & CANNABIS

Ever wondered what cool sciencey stuff they are teaching undergraduates at the University of Queensland?
 Every school day I will post my newly learned cool fact... Enjoy  

20/03/2013

BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY

PCR, DNA & CANNABIS

 Kary Banks Mullins is an interesting man and an amazing advocate of recreational cannabis use.

Mullins

 

As well as being a user of LSD, Cannabis and a myriad of other illicit substances, he was instrumental in the design of a process known as PCR.

PCR in all its complex glory

Polymerise Chain Reaction, aka PCR, is a process where small parts of DNA are synthesised into long chains.

From only very small fragments, you can use PCR to create huge exact quantities of the original DNA.

This invention is massive.

It allowed the police to use DNA as everyone would has seen on all of those cop TV shows.

It allowed many different branches of science to grow exponentially. Ranging from archaeology genetic analysis, through to Genome sequencing.

Mullins won the Nobel Prize in a record short period of time and his invention has been involved in many famous circumstances ranging from almost presidential impeachments to sci fi movies about the return of dinosaurs to planet earth.

Mullins is obviously a brilliant man.

Yet he continues to flaunt his illicit drug use.

 

He has also stirred up trouble by speaking about alien abductions, astrology, AIDS denialism and Global Warming fraud.

Although if the consequences is having a few skewed views on reality, while your being creative enough to produce something like PCR for the world,

Then hell… 

Perhaps we should all light up a doobie.