Arthur Kornberg discovered deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) polymerase, a natural, chemical tool that scientists could use to make copies of DNA, the giant molecule that carries the genetic information of every living organism. The achievement won Kornberg the 1959 Nobel Prize in medicine or physiology (which he shared with Severo Ochoa). Since his discovery, laboratories around the world have used the enzyme to build and study DNA. This has led to a clearer understanding of the biochemical basis of genetics, as well as new strategies for treating cancer and hereditary diseases.

Kornberg was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Joseph Kornberg and Lena Katz. An exceptional student, he graduated at age fifteen from Abraham Lincoln High School. Supported by a scholarship, he enrolled in the premedical program at City College of New York, majoring in biology and chemistry. He received his B.S. in 1937 and entered the University of Rochester...