Har Gobind Khorana: Five things you need to know about the man who helped unlock the secrets of DNA

The biochemist responsible for discovering an essential function of our DNA — and for constructing the first synthetic gene — is being honoured by Google with a Doodle in many parts of the world.

Har Gobind Khorana would be 96-years-old Tuesday, and has been honoured within the scientific community in the past with some of the most prestigious awards available.

Here’s what you need to know about Mr Khorana’s life and accomplishments.
His passion for science started when he was a young boy in India. Mr Khorana, born in 1922, grew up the youngest of five children with a father who tried to foster a love of learning in his children. He helped them learn to read and write, which wasn’t common in the village where Mr Khorana grew up.

From those humble beginnings, he was boosted by scholarships to receive a very advanced degree. Mr Khorana received his bachelors in organic chemistry in 1948. Throughout his early days in education, he was supported by scholarships that helped him to pursue his passions.

He won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1968. That award was given to Mr Khorana alongside two other researchers. Mr Khorana was based at the University of Wisconsin at the time, but had previously conducted research at universities in Canada, Switzerland, and England.