Chemists are the specialists in chemistry, who interact with chemical properties and reactions. The earth is made up of several gases. Some of these gases are necessary for life on the planet, but other gases can be harmful to living things. The use of gas in regular quantities is beneficial to the earth. The world began to become more advanced and had to use more of these gases to produce everyday objects and human inventions. We didn't know that these chemicals would affect our lives. Chemist Jose Mario Molina actually discovered that chlorofluorocarbons were affecting the ozone layer. Mario Molina was born on March 19, 1943 in Mexico City. Molina became interested in science from a very young age, so much so that he created his own chemistry laboratory in the bathroom of his home. Molina's aunt was a chemist and understood her nephew's great interest in science. She was a key figure in his life because she helped him perform chemistry experiments that were not taught in his school. He completed his studies in Mexico and Germany before moving to the United States to earn an advanced degree in physical chemistry. At UC Berkeley, Molina saw science's connection to human life and society. He found that it was irrelevant the research some people were doing for the development of weapons that would not help society and other destructive purposes. Mario wanted to work on something that would benefit society. Molina wanted to make a difference and do something that would help the living and not something that would destroy them. He discovered interest in chlorofluorocarbons used in refrigerators. In 1973, he joined Professor Sherwood Rowland to begin research on chlorofluorocarbons. These chemicals were thought to be harmless to our environment, but they were stored in the ozone layer and it was not known what happened to them. During his research Molina learned that these compounds move towards ozone and stay there. He expected the compounds to be destroyed by solar radiation. However, to his surprise, he discovered that chlorofluorocarbons would transform into components when exposed to radiation. This simplifies the components producing a high concentration of pure chlorine atoms. From there he already knew that the ozone layer can be destroyed with chlorine. The ozone layer is what protects living things from the sun's pure ultraviolet rays.