Har Gobind Khorana (b. 1922)

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Biography

Har Gobind Khorana was an Indian-American biochemist. While on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he shared the 1968 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Marshall W. Nirenberg and Robert W. Holley for research that showed the order of nucleotides in nucleic acids, which carry the genetic code of the cell and control the cell's synthesis of proteins. Khorana and Nirenberg were also awarded the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize from Columbia University in the same year.

Timeline

The story of Har Gobind Khorana, told in moments.

1960 Event

Synthesized functional genes outside a living cell for the first time. He built DNA sequences nucleotide by nucleotide. Nobody else had the patience or precision.

What does building DNA by hand feel like? Who else had the patience for that work?

1968 Event

Won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for cracking the genetic code. He showed which three-letter DNA sequences correspond to which amino acids. Shared the prize with Robert Holley and Marshall Nirenberg.

What did cracking the genetic code feel like? Did the Nobel Prize change your daily life?

1972 Event

Synthesized the first artificial gene. Built it from scratch using organic chemistry. The gene was functional. This opened the door to genetic engineering.

Was creating the first artificial gene frightening or thrilling? Did you see where it would lead?

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