What is Har Gobind Khorana famous for?
My work is primarily known for deciphering the genetic code and for the first chemical synthesis of a gene. By synthesizing specific nucleotide sequences, we were able to determine which triplets of bases, the codons, corresponded to which amino acids. This established a direct chemical link between the nucleic acid sequence and the protein sequence. The specificity of this interaction, governed by the precise pairing of bases in the codon and anticodon, was crucial. This effort laid the foundation for understanding how genetic information is translated into the functional molecules of life. The chemical synthesis of these oligonucleotides was a demanding, step-by-step process, but essential to prove the chemical nature of heredity.
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