Question 1

True or false: Mullis held a PhD in biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley.

Accepted Answer

False. He earned a PhD in biochemistry from UC Berkeley, but his degree was actually in chemistry, not biochemistry.

Question 2

True or false: Kary Mullis won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for inventing the polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Accepted Answer

True. He indeed won the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing PCR, a revolutionary DNA amplification technique.

Question 3

True or false: Mullis invented PCR while driving his car late at night on a California highway.

Accepted Answer

False. The eureka moment occurred while he was driving, but he was on a rural road in California, not a highway, and the story is often embellished.

Question 4

True or false: Mullis believed HIV does not cause AIDS, a controversial stance he publicly defended.

Accepted Answer

True. He was a prominent AIDS denialist, arguing HIV was harmless and that antiretroviral drugs caused AIDS, a view rejected by mainstream science.

Question 5

True or false: Mullis received his Nobel Prize alongside James Watson for DNA-related work.

Accepted Answer

False. He shared the Nobel with Michael Smith, not James Watson. Watson won earlier for the DNA double helix structure.

Question 6

True or false: Mullis was a strict vegan and refused to work with animal-derived enzymes.

Accepted Answer

False. He had no such dietary restrictions and famously used Taq polymerase from a bacterium, not avoiding animal products.

Question 7

True or false: Mullis claimed to have met a glowing raccoon while under the influence of LSD.

Accepted Answer

True. In his autobiography, Mullis wrote about encountering a fluorescent raccoon during an LSD trip, which he believed was a time traveler.

Question 8

True or false: Mullis once worked as a surfer and wrote a screenplay about surfing.

Accepted Answer

True. Before his scientific fame, he surfed professionally and later wrote a screenplay titled 'Surfin’ to the Nobel Prize' about his life.

Kary Mullis Trivia Questions