Thomas Brock, Whose Discovery Paved the Way for PCR Tests, Dies at 94
In 1966, he found heat-resistant bacteria in a hot spring at Yellowstone National Park. That led to the development of the chemical process behind the test for Covid-19.
Thomas Brock in 1992 at a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park. It was there, 26 years earlier, that he found Thermus aquaticus, a species of bacteria that would be used to develop the chemical process behind PCR testing for the coronavirus.Credit.Peter Menzel/Menzelphoto
April 22, 2021, 4:29 p.m. ET
Thomas Brock, a microbiologist, was driving west to a laboratory in Washington State in 1964 when he stopped off at Yellowstone National Park.