Medicine and Physiology
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See also : Sciences Ancient science 16th century books Nobel medals Nobel in medicine Autograph
See also : Sciences Ancient science 16th century books Nobel medals Nobel in medicine Autograph
1309 Optics by al-Farisi
2018 SOLD for £ 550K by Sotheby's
In antique times, scientific knowledge was transmitted through compilations, which the authors used to insert their own theories. Forgotten, quite wrongly, in Europe, this effective method was perpetuated elsewhere for fifteen centuries, mostly by Arab scholars.
Al-Shirazi was one of these polygraphs. Like Aristotle, he was interested in everything : mathematics, astronomy, geography, philosophy, medicine, theology, law, linguistics, rhetoric. He was also a chess player, a musician and even a humorist.
Al-Farisi, who was one of his pupils, was asked around 700 AH in Tabriz a question about the refraction of light. The master, who was not a specialist in optics, gave him access to a copy dated 419 AH of the Book of Optics by Alhacen, who demonstrated that vision is a brain phenomenon resulting from the reflection of light on the object. The eye is no more than the optical organ which transmits this information.
In compliance with the best tradition, al-Farisi's personal contribution is very important. He studies in great detail the internal geometry of the eye to understand the aberrations of vision created by refraction. He models the drop of water to study the propagation of the sun's ray in its complex sequence of refractions and reflections. He is the very first to interpret the rainbow mathematically and improves the theory of colors.
Al-Farisi's working manuscript, partially autograph, rigorously reproduces the list of chapters from The Optics of Alhacen. It was completed in 708 AH corresponding to 1309 CE, two years before the death of al-Shirazi.
A large part of this document was sold for £ 550K by Sotheby's on April 25, 2018 from a lower estimate of £ 250K, lot 32. This set of 321 sheets 22 x 12 cm is illustrated with many figures in red ink. One of these is perhaps the oldest scientifically correct diagram of the internal structure of the eye.
Another section is held at the New York Public Library. It includes the colophons which show that this treatise had been in the hands of two very eminent Ottoman scholars.
Copies were made to transmit this knowledge. One of them, dated 899 AH, was sold for £ 110K by Sotheby's on October 25, 2017, lot 23.
Al-Shirazi was one of these polygraphs. Like Aristotle, he was interested in everything : mathematics, astronomy, geography, philosophy, medicine, theology, law, linguistics, rhetoric. He was also a chess player, a musician and even a humorist.
Al-Farisi, who was one of his pupils, was asked around 700 AH in Tabriz a question about the refraction of light. The master, who was not a specialist in optics, gave him access to a copy dated 419 AH of the Book of Optics by Alhacen, who demonstrated that vision is a brain phenomenon resulting from the reflection of light on the object. The eye is no more than the optical organ which transmits this information.
In compliance with the best tradition, al-Farisi's personal contribution is very important. He studies in great detail the internal geometry of the eye to understand the aberrations of vision created by refraction. He models the drop of water to study the propagation of the sun's ray in its complex sequence of refractions and reflections. He is the very first to interpret the rainbow mathematically and improves the theory of colors.
Al-Farisi's working manuscript, partially autograph, rigorously reproduces the list of chapters from The Optics of Alhacen. It was completed in 708 AH corresponding to 1309 CE, two years before the death of al-Shirazi.
A large part of this document was sold for £ 550K by Sotheby's on April 25, 2018 from a lower estimate of £ 250K, lot 32. This set of 321 sheets 22 x 12 cm is illustrated with many figures in red ink. One of these is perhaps the oldest scientifically correct diagram of the internal structure of the eye.
Another section is held at the New York Public Library. It includes the colophons which show that this treatise had been in the hands of two very eminent Ottoman scholars.
Copies were made to transmit this knowledge. One of them, dated 899 AH, was sold for £ 110K by Sotheby's on October 25, 2017, lot 23.
#AuctionUpdate The earliest scientific drawing of a human eye? An early autograph copy of Al-Farisi's landmark work on optics (dated 1309 AD) sells for £549,000#MiddleEast pic.twitter.com/4P7Tv5QMjh
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) April 25, 2018
De Humani Corporis Fabrica by VESALIUS
1
1543 1st edition
1998 SOLD for $ 1.65M by Christie's
Andries van Wesel, who latinized his name as Andreas Vesalius, was one of the founders of modern science and one of the scientists whose work had the greatest impact on our civilization. He is the explorer of the human body.
Born to a family of doctors, he observed the decomposed corpses on the gibbet of Brussels, in front of his home. He early appreciated that only direct observation could lead to a suitable understanding.
Not only he refuted all the errors of Galen which had prevented the progress of medicine and surgery, but also he explained the reason why : in order not to defy the taboos of the Roman Empire, Galen had dissected monkeys. An example among so many progresses is the analysis of breathing by which Vesalius paves the way for life saving ventilation.
His drawings are plagiarized and challenged. Vesalius therefore decides that he must collect his observations and figures in a masterly work. After four years of preparation, De Humani Corporis Fabrica 'libri septem' (meaning in seven books) is published in Basel in folio format 43 x 28 cm in 1543.
The anatomical drawings were prepared in Venice by an anonymous artist, probably from Titian's studio. Some vitality was added by staging écorchés and skeletons in landscapes of the Padua countryside.
A copy owned by the Emperor Charles V, considered to be his dedication copy, was sold by Christie's on March 18, 1998 for $ 1.65M from a lower estimate of $ 400K, lot 213. All illustrations including initials had been colored with highlights in liquid gold and silver.
A copy de-accessioned from the Royal Institution was sold for £ 255K by Christie's on December 1, 2015, lot 284. It passed at Sotheby's on July 11, 2024, lot 115.
Born to a family of doctors, he observed the decomposed corpses on the gibbet of Brussels, in front of his home. He early appreciated that only direct observation could lead to a suitable understanding.
Not only he refuted all the errors of Galen which had prevented the progress of medicine and surgery, but also he explained the reason why : in order not to defy the taboos of the Roman Empire, Galen had dissected monkeys. An example among so many progresses is the analysis of breathing by which Vesalius paves the way for life saving ventilation.
His drawings are plagiarized and challenged. Vesalius therefore decides that he must collect his observations and figures in a masterly work. After four years of preparation, De Humani Corporis Fabrica 'libri septem' (meaning in seven books) is published in Basel in folio format 43 x 28 cm in 1543.
The anatomical drawings were prepared in Venice by an anonymous artist, probably from Titian's studio. Some vitality was added by staging écorchés and skeletons in landscapes of the Padua countryside.
A copy owned by the Emperor Charles V, considered to be his dedication copy, was sold by Christie's on March 18, 1998 for $ 1.65M from a lower estimate of $ 400K, lot 213. All illustrations including initials had been colored with highlights in liquid gold and silver.
A copy de-accessioned from the Royal Institution was sold for £ 255K by Christie's on December 1, 2015, lot 284. It passed at Sotheby's on July 11, 2024, lot 115.
2
1555 annotated 2nd edition
2024 SOLD for $ 2.23M by Christie's
The second Basel edition of the De humani corporis fabrica was issued in 1555 with new types in the same folio format 43 x 28 cm. Vesalius used a printed copy for preparing an up-issue in a search for improving the clarity of his learning. This copy with about 1,000 autograph marginalia was sold for $ 2.23M from a lower estimate of $ 800K by Christie's on Febtuary 2, 2024, lot 75. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
That project of a 3rd edition will not go further.
That project of a 3rd edition will not go further.
□ Vesalius’s own annotated copy of the second edition of his groundbreaking anatomical atlas, De humani corporis fabrica—with corrections for the never-realized third edition. Lot 75 of our upcoming online sale, from Jan 17 to Feb 2. More here: https://t.co/i1w1BDG7Bs pic.twitter.com/QObkEKiHJE
— Christie's Books (@ChristiesBKS) January 11, 2024
1934 George Minot Nobel Prize
2015 SOLD for $ 550K by Bonhams
Medicine and pharmacy made significant progress by empirical experiments. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine highlights a long list of victories over previously incurable diseases. It was awarded in 1934 to Whipple, Minot and Murphy for their work on the diet of pernicious anemia.
The mechanism of the disease is not known when Whipple presumes that the liver has a role in it. He shows on dogs that the absorption of liver reverses the effects of an induced anemia. In 1926, Minot and Murphy use his results to prepare liver juice for patients showing syndromes of pernicious anemia. The disease is defeated.
The pharmaceutical story does not end at that point, fortunately. As early as 1928, another researcher who was not honored in the Nobel prize improved the diet by injecting liver extracts to the patient, avoiding him a daily swallow of a big quantity of liver food. In 1948, the cause of the pernicious anemia is identified as a deficiency of absorption by the intestine of a previously unidentified vitamin.
On September 21, 2015, Bonhams sold for $ 550K from a lower estimate of $ 200K the Nobel medal and diploma awarded to George Minot along with various related documents, lot 46. Please watch the video shared by Bonhams.
One of these documents is particularly noteworthy. Minot suffered from a severe diabetes. He had been saved from death by the discovery of insulin in 1921. Frederick Banting wrote from Toronto to congratulate him on his Nobel and to comfort him by stating that good quality insulin is also available in Sweden.
The mechanism of the disease is not known when Whipple presumes that the liver has a role in it. He shows on dogs that the absorption of liver reverses the effects of an induced anemia. In 1926, Minot and Murphy use his results to prepare liver juice for patients showing syndromes of pernicious anemia. The disease is defeated.
The pharmaceutical story does not end at that point, fortunately. As early as 1928, another researcher who was not honored in the Nobel prize improved the diet by injecting liver extracts to the patient, avoiding him a daily swallow of a big quantity of liver food. In 1948, the cause of the pernicious anemia is identified as a deficiency of absorption by the intestine of a previously unidentified vitamin.
On September 21, 2015, Bonhams sold for $ 550K from a lower estimate of $ 200K the Nobel medal and diploma awarded to George Minot along with various related documents, lot 46. Please watch the video shared by Bonhams.
One of these documents is particularly noteworthy. Minot suffered from a severe diabetes. He had been saved from death by the discovery of insulin in 1921. Frederick Banting wrote from Toronto to congratulate him on his Nobel and to comfort him by stating that good quality insulin is also available in Sweden.
1939-1941 Lou Gehrig Disease
2020 SOLD for $ 450K by Christie's and Hunt
Few celebrities have given their name to the illness they were victims. From 1939 Lou Gehrig was suffering from Charcot's disease, an incurable multiple sclerosis. In a different field of activity, the quadriplegic physicist Stephen Hawking is another famous victim of this terrible disease.
Lou Gehrig had been the most exemplary of champions. He feels exhausted in the middle of the 1938 season. His arms and legs become weak but he continues. From 1923 until the fateful April 30, 1939, he played 2,130 consecutive games for the only team of his professional career, the New York Yankees. For the next game, it is he who presents the list of players to the umpires, without his name.
Medical testing in performed in June at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN. The diagnosis is terrifying. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is incurable and the paralysis is progressive and inexorable. It is not contagious. Mental functions are not affected by this partial destruction of the brain. The champion's life expectancy is three years. He will not reach it.
Lou is courageous. On July 4, 1939 in the Yankee Stadium, the Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day is added to the Independence Day ceremonies. Lou delivers with extraordinary dignity in front of 62,000 spectators the most poignant speech in the history of sport : "I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for 17 years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans ".
On December 16, 2020, Christie's in association with Hunt sold at lot 87 for $ 450K the letters exchanged by Gehrig throughout his final phase with Dr O'Leary of the Mayo Clinic : original letters sent by the champion and carbon copies of the doctor's answers. Lou remains lucid with a few bursts of hope and follows the considerations from the medical world about this pathology. He is informed of experiments on monkeys but fears being effeminated by injections of hormones.
Lou died on June 2, 1941, 17 days before his 38th birthday. In the United States, his disease is now named the Lou Gehrig Disease. He was not autopsied, and the cause and triggering factor have not been identified.
Lou Gehrig had been the most exemplary of champions. He feels exhausted in the middle of the 1938 season. His arms and legs become weak but he continues. From 1923 until the fateful April 30, 1939, he played 2,130 consecutive games for the only team of his professional career, the New York Yankees. For the next game, it is he who presents the list of players to the umpires, without his name.
Medical testing in performed in June at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN. The diagnosis is terrifying. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is incurable and the paralysis is progressive and inexorable. It is not contagious. Mental functions are not affected by this partial destruction of the brain. The champion's life expectancy is three years. He will not reach it.
Lou is courageous. On July 4, 1939 in the Yankee Stadium, the Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day is added to the Independence Day ceremonies. Lou delivers with extraordinary dignity in front of 62,000 spectators the most poignant speech in the history of sport : "I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for 17 years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans ".
On December 16, 2020, Christie's in association with Hunt sold at lot 87 for $ 450K the letters exchanged by Gehrig throughout his final phase with Dr O'Leary of the Mayo Clinic : original letters sent by the champion and carbon copies of the doctor's answers. Lou remains lucid with a few bursts of hope and follows the considerations from the medical world about this pathology. He is informed of experiments on monkeys but fears being effeminated by injections of hormones.
Lou died on June 2, 1941, 17 days before his 38th birthday. In the United States, his disease is now named the Lou Gehrig Disease. He was not autopsied, and the cause and triggering factor have not been identified.
1953 Letter to his son by Crick
2013 SOLD for $ 6.1M by Christie's
Through a mathematical approach to X-Ray views that had been difficult to analyze, Crick and Watson built the model of the double helix of DNA. Copernicus had used a somehow similar method to raise the heliocentric hypothesis when seeking to simplify an apparently too complex data.
Very excited (as he told it), Francis Crick could not keep the secret. The listener is well chosen: he explains with great foresight the result and its consequences in a seven-page handwritten letter dated 19 March 1953 to his son Michael then twelve years old, a college student out of home for his school time.
This first digest work of one of the greatest discoveries is signed Daddy. We see with great pleasure that this research was an actual team work honoring equally the two scientists, "Jim" Watson and Daddy. The schematic diagram of the double helix has a beautiful clarity.
On April 2, Watson and Crick submitted the first official text to the professional review Nature, which published it on April 25. The contrast is striking between the enthusiasm of Daddy's letter and the short and careful scientific release, not illustrated, soberly explaining that the fundamental breakthrough of the new theory is the relative position of the chemical elements in the molecule.
Their theory was right, and was soon validated by all biochemists in the world. Daddy's letter is a true treasure in the history of science, unparalleled except perhaps by some letters from Einstein.
Daddy's letter was sold for $ 6.1M from a lower estimate of $ 1M by Christie's on April 10, 2013, lot 1. This document is extraordinary and certainly unique. One of the most important discoveries of our time is announced in a letter to a child before being published in the specialized journals. Emotion takes its place alongside the scientific rigor.
Very excited (as he told it), Francis Crick could not keep the secret. The listener is well chosen: he explains with great foresight the result and its consequences in a seven-page handwritten letter dated 19 March 1953 to his son Michael then twelve years old, a college student out of home for his school time.
This first digest work of one of the greatest discoveries is signed Daddy. We see with great pleasure that this research was an actual team work honoring equally the two scientists, "Jim" Watson and Daddy. The schematic diagram of the double helix has a beautiful clarity.
On April 2, Watson and Crick submitted the first official text to the professional review Nature, which published it on April 25. The contrast is striking between the enthusiasm of Daddy's letter and the short and careful scientific release, not illustrated, soberly explaining that the fundamental breakthrough of the new theory is the relative position of the chemical elements in the molecule.
Their theory was right, and was soon validated by all biochemists in the world. Daddy's letter is a true treasure in the history of science, unparalleled except perhaps by some letters from Einstein.
Daddy's letter was sold for $ 6.1M from a lower estimate of $ 1M by Christie's on April 10, 2013, lot 1. This document is extraordinary and certainly unique. One of the most important discoveries of our time is announced in a letter to a child before being published in the specialized journals. Emotion takes its place alongside the scientific rigor.
1962 Nobel Prize
Intro
The birth of molecular biology is the result of a multidisciplinary cooperation between chemists, physicists and biologists. The existence of nucleic acids in the cell nuclei had been identified in the nineteenth century. From 1939, advances in micro-radiography X gave hope to understand the structure of these molecules.
Scientists had identified two types of acids, RNA (ribonucleic acid) in the cytoplasm of the cell and DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) in the chromosomes. They appreciated that these acids held the key to the functioning of life.
Two British laboratories of crystallography worked collaboratively. Francis Crick, assisted by the young US doctor James D. Watson, was at Cambridge. In London, Maurice Wilkins was assisted by Rosalind Franklin who perfected the techniques of observation and realized the radiograms. The untimely cancer of Rosalind Franklin is probably due to an excess of radiation dose.
The single helix of RNA structure and the two strands of DNA were among the first discoveries. In 1953, Watson understood that the shapes of the elements of the two DNA strands were identical although these elements were different. Crick and Watson immediately developed the model of the double helix, which was the biggest breakthrough of all time in the field of life sciences.
Both strands of the helix are connected by regularly spaced links which are always constituted by a pair of chains in two couples of possibilities. When the strands are disjoined, the helix is restructured with organic matter for the creation of the second strand of a new double helix with the same genetic message as the original DNA molecule. Before Crick and Watson, no geometer, no artist had imagined this compact and steady structure.
Crick and Watson knew immediately that they had found the secret of the transmission of information in biological material. With this key, molecular biology soon became a major science, leading to understand cell differentiation and biodiversity.
The letter written by Crick to his young son showed that he was aware of the importance of the discovery. It was sold for $ 6.1M by Christie's in 2013.
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Crick, Watson and Wilkins in 1962.
Scientists had identified two types of acids, RNA (ribonucleic acid) in the cytoplasm of the cell and DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) in the chromosomes. They appreciated that these acids held the key to the functioning of life.
Two British laboratories of crystallography worked collaboratively. Francis Crick, assisted by the young US doctor James D. Watson, was at Cambridge. In London, Maurice Wilkins was assisted by Rosalind Franklin who perfected the techniques of observation and realized the radiograms. The untimely cancer of Rosalind Franklin is probably due to an excess of radiation dose.
The single helix of RNA structure and the two strands of DNA were among the first discoveries. In 1953, Watson understood that the shapes of the elements of the two DNA strands were identical although these elements were different. Crick and Watson immediately developed the model of the double helix, which was the biggest breakthrough of all time in the field of life sciences.
Both strands of the helix are connected by regularly spaced links which are always constituted by a pair of chains in two couples of possibilities. When the strands are disjoined, the helix is restructured with organic matter for the creation of the second strand of a new double helix with the same genetic message as the original DNA molecule. Before Crick and Watson, no geometer, no artist had imagined this compact and steady structure.
Crick and Watson knew immediately that they had found the secret of the transmission of information in biological material. With this key, molecular biology soon became a major science, leading to understand cell differentiation and biodiversity.
The letter written by Crick to his young son showed that he was aware of the importance of the discovery. It was sold for $ 6.1M by Christie's in 2013.
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Crick, Watson and Wilkins in 1962.
1
James Watson
2014 SOLD for $ 4.8M by Christie's
The 86 year old Watson entrusted Christie's to sell his Nobel memories, offered in three lots on December 4, 2014. The Nobel medal was sold for $ 4.8M from a lower estimate of $ 2.5M, lot 1. His handwritten notes for the acceptance speech was sold for $ 365K, lot 2.
The manuscript of his Nobel lecture on the role of RNA in protein synthesis was sold for $ 245K, lot 3. Less than ten years after the discovery of the double helix, this theme highlighted the fact that the physicochemical mechanisms of life were already fully explained.
A portion of the proceeds from the sales were donated by Dr. Watson to the benefit of scientific research and charities.
The manuscript of his Nobel lecture on the role of RNA in protein synthesis was sold for $ 245K, lot 3. Less than ten years after the discovery of the double helix, this theme highlighted the fact that the physicochemical mechanisms of life were already fully explained.
A portion of the proceeds from the sales were donated by Dr. Watson to the benefit of scientific research and charities.
2
Francis Crick
2013 SOLD for $ 2.27M by Heritage
The Nobel gold medal and diploma awarded to Francis HC Crick were sold for $ 2.27M from a lower estimate of $ 500K by Heritage on April 11, 2013, lot 34001.
1963 Alan Hodgkin Nobel Prize
2015 SOLD for $ 800K by Nate D Sanders
The knowledge of the physico-chemical functioning of life made its breakthroughs in the mid-twentieth century helped of course by the X-rays but also by the improvement of electricity and electronics.
Alan Hodgkin and Andrew Huxley are biophysicists and more exactly electrophysiologists. The new technique of the voltage clamp allows them to measure the electric signal across the membrane of a nerve cell.
The sciatic nerve of the frog did not allow measurements in a sufficient accuracy. Working in association with the marine biology laboratory of Plymouth in England, they use in their experiments the largest known axon in the animal reign, measuring 1 mm in diameter, used by the squid to elicit a quick reaction to a threat.
The two researchers can then model the electrical behavior of the neuron. This fruitful advance will have a considerable impact on the knowledge and healing of several nerve diseases and will enable to raise a model of the transmission of nerve inputs to the muscular system. The existence of ion channels in cell membranes will be confirmed by others much later, completing the description of the nervous cell.
Hodgkin and Huxley shared the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with John Eccles. The Nobel medal awarded to Hodgkin was sold for $ 800K by Nate D Sanders on October 29, 2015, lot 1. It was accompanied by various documents including a copy of the scientific publication associated with the prize.
Alan Hodgkin and Andrew Huxley are biophysicists and more exactly electrophysiologists. The new technique of the voltage clamp allows them to measure the electric signal across the membrane of a nerve cell.
The sciatic nerve of the frog did not allow measurements in a sufficient accuracy. Working in association with the marine biology laboratory of Plymouth in England, they use in their experiments the largest known axon in the animal reign, measuring 1 mm in diameter, used by the squid to elicit a quick reaction to a threat.
The two researchers can then model the electrical behavior of the neuron. This fruitful advance will have a considerable impact on the knowledge and healing of several nerve diseases and will enable to raise a model of the transmission of nerve inputs to the muscular system. The existence of ion channels in cell membranes will be confirmed by others much later, completing the description of the nervous cell.
Hodgkin and Huxley shared the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with John Eccles. The Nobel medal awarded to Hodgkin was sold for $ 800K by Nate D Sanders on October 29, 2015, lot 1. It was accompanied by various documents including a copy of the scientific publication associated with the prize.
1993 Kary Mullis Nobel Prize in Chemistry
2016 SOLD for $ 670K by Bonhams
Life exists because the chains of the DNA molecule have the capability to replicate. The discovery of the double helix structure by the team of crystallographers of Crick and Watson in 1953 was followed as early as 1956 by the discovery of the catalyst by a biochemist, Kornberg.
The molecular phenomena are too small to be studied individually but the challenge is immense. Genetic defects or viral attacks would be best countered if their mechanisms were modeled on the scale of the chain sequence.
The early tests for the replication in vitro of complete DNA sequences are discouraging by their processing time and their low yield. Chemists take control in their turn of that problem. In 1982, a publication by Dr. Kary Mullis working for Cetus company provides the solution, identified as PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction).
Once the chain carrying the property to be analyzed is isolated, it is put in the presence of a nourishing primer and subjected to successive cycles of heating and cooling. The reaction is fast and the population growth is exponential. The invention of Mullis is intuitive. His great merit is to have proved the correctness of his concept by developing the appropriate machine. The impact on genetic engineering is immediate.
Mullis received the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, shared with the biochemist Michael Smith.
On February 14, 2016, Bonhams sold in one lot for $ 670K from a lower estimate of $ 450K the Nobel medal of Dr. Mullis along with his Nobel diploma, a copy of his lecture and several other documents, lot 93.
Mullis was the third Nobel winner to sell his own medal at auction, after Watson and Lederman.
Please watch his interview by Bonhams in the preparation of the sale.
The molecular phenomena are too small to be studied individually but the challenge is immense. Genetic defects or viral attacks would be best countered if their mechanisms were modeled on the scale of the chain sequence.
The early tests for the replication in vitro of complete DNA sequences are discouraging by their processing time and their low yield. Chemists take control in their turn of that problem. In 1982, a publication by Dr. Kary Mullis working for Cetus company provides the solution, identified as PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction).
Once the chain carrying the property to be analyzed is isolated, it is put in the presence of a nourishing primer and subjected to successive cycles of heating and cooling. The reaction is fast and the population growth is exponential. The invention of Mullis is intuitive. His great merit is to have proved the correctness of his concept by developing the appropriate machine. The impact on genetic engineering is immediate.
Mullis received the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, shared with the biochemist Michael Smith.
On February 14, 2016, Bonhams sold in one lot for $ 670K from a lower estimate of $ 450K the Nobel medal of Dr. Mullis along with his Nobel diploma, a copy of his lecture and several other documents, lot 93.
Mullis was the third Nobel winner to sell his own medal at auction, after Watson and Lederman.
Please watch his interview by Bonhams in the preparation of the sale.
