Berg, Paul 1926- . US molecular biologist. In
1972, using gene-splicing techniques
developed by others, Berg spliced and
combined into a single hybrid DNA from an
animal tumour virus (SV40) and DNA from a
bacterial virus. Berg's work aroused fears in
other workers and excited continuing
controversy. For his work on recombinant DNA,
Berg shared the 1980 Nobel Chemistry Prize
with Walter Gilbert and Frederick Sanger.