2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry (GS Paper 3, Science and Tech)
Why in news?
- Carolyn Bertozzi, Morten Meldal, and Barry Sharpless won the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry.
- While Barry Sharpless and Morten Meldallaid the foundation for a functional form of chemistry ‘click chemistry’ in which molecular building blocks snap together quickly and efficiently. Carolyn Bertozzi took it to a new dimension and started utilising it in living organisms.
Barry Sharpless wins the Nobel twice:
- Barry Sharplesswas awarded the chemistry prize in 2001 and 2022. He last won the Nobel in 2001 for his work around chirally catalyzed oxidation reactions.
- Barry Sharpless is only the fifth person to be awarded two Nobel Prizes. He follows in the footsteps of double Nobel Prize laureates John Bardeen, Marie Skłodowska Curie, Linus Pauling and Frederick Sanger.
What is Click chemistry?
- Barry Sharpless laid the foundation for a functional form of chemistry in which molecular building blocks snap together quickly and efficiently.
- Around the year 2000, he coined the concept of click chemistry, which is a form of simple and reliable chemistry, where reactions occur quickly and unwanted by-products are avoided.
- Shortly afterwards, Meldal and Sharpless, presented the copper catalysedazide-alkyne cycloaddition.
- Azide is an organic compound with the formula N3 while an alkyne is a hydrocarbon containing at least one carbon-carbon triple bond.
- This is an elegant and efficient chemical reaction that is now in widespread use. Among many other uses, it is utilised in the development of drugs, for mapping DNA and creating materials that are more fit for purpose.
- To map important but elusive biomolecules on the surface of cells, glycans, Carolyn Bertozzi developed click reactions that work inside living organisms.
- These reactions are now used globally to explore cells and track biological processes.
- Using bioorthogonal reactions, researchers have improved the targeting of cancer drugs, which are now being tested in clinical trials.
About Nobel Prize in Chemistry:
- The Chemistry Nobel is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences as per the will of Alfred Nobel. So far, the committee has chosen 113 laureates in the field, of which seven have been women. Meanwhile, 25 chemistry prizes have been shared by two laureates.
- Frederick Sanger is the only person to have won the Chemistry prize twice, in 1958 and in 1980.
- The Nobel Committee in 2021 awarded the top award jointly to Benjamin List and David MacMillan for their development of a precise new tool for molecular construction: organocatalysis. The tool has had a great impact on pharmaceutical research and has made chemistry greener.
INS Tarkash is Indias first-ever warship to patrol Gulf of Guinea
(GS Paper 3, Defence)
Why in news?
- Indian Navy Frigate INS Tarkash completed her 41-day long anti-piracy deployment in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) recently.
- This marks the first-ever deployment in the West African region by an Indian Navy warship.
Key Highlights:
- Apart from anti-piracy patrol and joint patrols with the regional navies, the deployment was utilised for capacity-building activities like training in damage control, firefighting, diving, medical aspects and casualty evacuation.
- During the deployment that saw the Russian-origin Indian Navy ship covering 4315 nautical miles, a high state of combat readiness was maintained.
- As part of the combat readiness, onboard weapons systems such as the main 100mm naval gun and the Ak-630 (6x30mm) close-in weapon system were fired.
Why Gulf of Guinea (GoG)?
- Situated in the eastern tropical Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Guinea region witnesses a significant amount of maritime crime and is an important shipping zone that has large volume of oil and gas transiting the area.
- The deployment of INA Tarkash included port calls at Dakar in Senegal, Lome in Togo, Lagos in Nigeria and Port Gentil in Gabon.
First Prime Minister to attend KulluDussehra
(GS Paper 1, Culture)
Why in news?
- In the nearly 400 years of the history of the world-famous weeklong Kullu Dussehra festivities, Narendra Modi became the first Prime Minister to pay obeisance to Kullu Valley's chief deity Lord Raghunath in the festivity that begin in this Himachal Pradesh hill town.
- Lord Raghunath's chariot was wheeled out from the historical temple in Sultanpur on the first day of Dussehra or Vijay Dashami, the day when the festivities end in the rest of the country.
Background:
- The Kullu Dussehra festival concludes with the 'Lanka Dahan' ritual on the banks of the Beas river. All the assembled deities will participate, before they are carried back to their own temples in a beautifully decorated palanquin.
- The festival traces its origin to 1637 when Raja Jagat Singh ruled Kullu. He had invited all local deities in Kullu to perform a ritual in honour of Lord Raghunath during Dussehra. Since then, the annual assembly of deities from hundreds of village temples has become a tradition.
- After the abolition of the Indian princely states, the district administration has been inviting the deities.
- According to a reference book compiled by the Kullu administration, there are 534 'living' gods and goddesses in the Kullu Valley, which is popularly known also as Devbhoomi or abode of gods.
New projects inaugurated:
AIIMS Bilaspur:
- In a bid to boost the medical infrastructure of the hilly state, the PM inaugurated the newly constructed AIIMS Bilaspur, the foundation stone of which was laid by him back in 2017.
- Constructed at a cost of about Rs 1,470 crore, the hospital is equipped with 18 specialities and 17 super-speciality departments along with 18 modular operation theatres.
- A project that was undertaken under the Pradhan MantriSwasthya Suraksha Yojana, AIIMS Bilaspur has a capacity of 750 beds out of which 64 are Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds.
- The hospital will not only increase access to affordable healthcare but is also eco-friendly. The AIIMS Bilaspur will be known as ‘Green AIIMS.’
Medical Device Park:
- In March, the Himachal Pradesh Industries Department signed 15 Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with potential investors to build a Medical Device Park (MDP) in Nalagarh in Solan district.
- The MDP will enable the state to manufacture its own health equipment. The park will cover an area of 265 hectares.
- The project, which will be built at a cost of about Rs 350 crore, will also include the setting up of a Centre of Excellence of CiBiod PGIMER.
What’s next?
- The festival will be celebrated from 5 October to 11 October 2022.
