Dave on PCR: what it is and what it can and cannot do.

Feb 10, 2021 I gave a short talk on PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) titled Wag The Dog. In 1983, Kary Mullis invented PCR, which stands for polymerase chain reaction. In 1993 he got the Nobel Prize for PCR. PCR is like a photocopier that can make billions of copies of a single fragment of DNA. Kary and I met through our mutual friend Peter Duesberg, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley. In 1997, Peter, Kary, and I were invited to a meeting on AIDS in Colombia, South America. Kary explained why his truly amazing invention PCR cannot detect viruses in people or diagnose infections.