Dr. Hargobind Khorana

• 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.

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.