Howard Temin was an American virologist who revolutionized molecular biology in 1965 when he found that genetic information in the form of ribonucleic acid (RNA) can be copied into deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). This process, called reverse transcriptase, contradicted accepted beliefs of molecular biologists at that time, according to which DNA always passed on genetic information through RNA. Temin's research also contributed to a better understanding of the role viruses play in the onset of cancer. For this, he was featured on the cover of Newsweek in 1971, which hailed his discovery as the most important advance in cancer research in sixty years. In addition, Temin shared the 1975 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine for his work on the Rous sarcoma virus. His discovery of the reverse transcriptase process contributed greatly to the eventual identification of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Temin's later research focused on genetic engineering techniques. A vehement...