Last Updated: August 2024 (Dr. Hargobind Khorana)
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Dr. Hargobind Khorana
This article deals with ‘Dr. Hargobind Khorana – UPSC.’ This is part of our series on ‘Science and Technology’ which is an important pillar of the GS-3 syllabus. For more articles, you can click here.
Initial Life
- Dr Hargobind Khorana was born in Raipur village of Multan district (Punjab) in 1922. He later became a naturalized citizen of the US.
- His early training was in chemistry, but later, he started applying chemistry to solve problems in biology, beginning the field of Chemical Biology.
Major Achievements
Interpretation of the Genetic Code
- He received the 1968 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine (shared with Nirenberg and Holley) for interpreting genetic code and its function in protein synthesis.
Synthetic DNA
- Dr Khorana constructed the world’s first synthetic gene, paving the way for further advancements in the field of genetic engineering and biotechnology.
Exploration of DNA Polymerase
- DNA Polymerase are enzymes that help in replicating DNA. He contributed to the science of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests, used to detect genetic material from a specific organism, like a virus.
Discovery of tRNA
- Dr. Khorana discovered the structure of transfer-RNA, or tRNA (small RNA molecule that participates in protein synthesis).
Vision Studies
- He had an interest in investigating the molecular process behind vision.
- He investigated rhodopsin mutations associated with retinitis pigmentosa, which causes night blindness. Rhodopsin is a light-sensitive protein found in the retina of the vertebrate eye.