Ron Cook and I flanking the Oligonucleotide Synthesizer that Keyed the Invention of PCR

One September 13, 2013 I visited Marc Beal, Ron Cook, et al, at Biosearch Technologies, Petaluma and Novato, CA. A highlight of my visit was Marc photographing Ron and I next to the oligonucleotide synthesizer that Ron invented and sold to Cetus Corp, that inspired Dr. Kary Mullis to invent polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Kary tells his part of the story at

http://www.karymullis.com/pcr.shtml

See also

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kary_Mullis

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1993/

http://blog.biosearchtech.com/TheBiosearchTechBlog/bid/98660/30-Years-The-Impact-of-PCR

http://info.biosearchtech.com/30-years-of-pcr/

Kary autographed the machine. The 30th anniversary of PCR webinar in the last two web links above was at Biosearch two days before my visit (Sept 11, 2013 webinar, Sept 13, 2013 visit).

To put PCR in perspective, it was critical in advancing specific nucleic acid isolation, thatis, enabling sequencing of genomic DNA and reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR) enabled efficient RNA isolation and sequencing. If PCR had never been invented, the human genome project would not have been practicable, and the "$1000 genome" in 2014 would not be possible.

In summary, the oligonucleotide synthesizer in the photo led to one of the most important inventions ever in biomedical research. My thanks to:

* Kary for inventing PCR

* Ron for inventing 'the machine' and selling it to Kary/Cetus, and buying it back for Biosearch's historical collection of awesome stuff

* Marc for inviting me out to Biosearch.

At Biosearch I gave a presentation on Tattletales and T-Bow, similar to what is downloadable at

http://works.bepress.com/gmcnamara/26/

now out of date compared to my content at

http://works.bepress.com/gmcnamara/42