# Kary B. Mullis — Patents explained on PatentBrief

Kary B. Mullis has 4 landmark patents explained in plain English on PatentBrief.

- [Using PCR to Detect Viruses in Blood and Tissue Samples](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/5176995/hiv-pcr-detection) — granted 1993
  A 1989 patent by Nobel laureate Kary Mullis and his team on using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to replicate and detect tiny amounts of viral DNA or RNA, such as HIV and Hepatitis B, directly from human clinical samples.
- [How to Make Many Copies of a DNA Piece with Heat](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/4965188/taq-polymerase-for-pcr) — granted 1990
  This patent describes the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method, a technique to make millions of copies of a specific DNA segment using a heat-resistant enzyme and repeated temperature changes.
- [How to Make Billions of Copies of a DNA Segment](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/4683195/pcr-polymerase-chain-reaction) — granted 1987
  This patent describes the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), a method to rapidly create many copies of a specific piece of DNA or RNA, enabling its detection and analysis.
- [How to Make Many Copies of a Specific DNA Segment](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/4683202/pcr-polymerase-chain-reaction-mullis) — granted 1987
  This patent describes the fundamental three-step process for making millions of copies of a specific piece of DNA using short starter molecules and an enzyme, a technique known as Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR).

**Full profile:** https://patentbrief.org/inventor/kary-b-mullis

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_Source: PatentBrief — https://patentbrief.org. Plain-English explanations of US patents._