About

He was born in Punjab, British India, and later emigrated to the United States. Khorana shared the 1968 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Marshall W. Nirenberg and Robert W. Holley for their work on deciphering the genetic code and its function in protein synthesis. Khorana's groundbreaking research focused on understanding the relationship between the sequence of nucleotides in DNA and the sequence of amino acids in proteins. He made significant contributions to the field of molecular biology and played a crucial role in the development of synthetic oligonucleotides, which are short DNA or RNA molecules with known sequences. His work laid the foundation for the synthesis and manipulation of specific genes, leading to the development of techniques such as genetic engineering and gene therapy. In addition to his work on the genetic code, Khorana also investigated the chemical synthesis of DNA and RNA, artificial nucleotide analogs, and the enzymatic synthesis of biologically active nucleic acids. His research expanded our understanding of the structure and function of nucleic acids, RNA, and DNA. Throughout his career, Khorana received numerous honors and awards for his scientific contributions, including the National Medal of Science, the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research, and the Modern Biology Reader's Digest Award for Distinguished Research in the Life Sciences. He held many prestigious academic positions and served as a professor at institutions such as the University of British Columbia and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Khorana's work had a lasting impact on the field of molecular biology and paved the way for advancements in genetics and medicine. His research revolutionized our understanding of the genetic code and laid the foundation for the development of new therapies and treatments for genetic disorders. Har Gobind Khorana's contributions to science continue to be celebrated and remembered as a milestone in the field of molecular biology.