The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020 was announced on October 07, to be awarded jointly to Emanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A Doudna for the discovery of the CRISPR CAS9 system of gene editing. For the first time in the history of the Prize, the Nobel has been jointly awarded to two women scientists.
The Society for Promotion of Science of Science & Technology in India (SPSTI), in association with the Chandigarh chapter of the National Academy of Sciences, India and IISER Mohali conducted an online awareness lecture on the above topic on Saturday, November 7, 2020, at 11:00 AM, by Prof. (Dr.) Madhu Khullar, Emeritus Scientist, Dept. of Experimental Medicine, PGIMER Chandigarh. She delivered an enlightening lecture on the topic to an audience of scientific temperament including educationists, scientists and students and teachers. This was the second lecture in the series on Nobel prizes 2020, supported by the Department of Science & Technology, Chandigarh Administration.
Prof. Arun K. Grover, Former Vice Chancellor of Panjab University, spoke about the series of lectures covering each of the 2020 Nobel prizes, scheduled to be delivered by Dec. 10, when the prizes will be awarded. He welcomed those present. Prof. Keya Dharamvir, General Secretary of SPSTI, introduced the speaker.
The lecture was attended by 38 on the zoom window and 3612 reach on Facebook channel of SPSTI.
Prof. Madhu Khullar, through effective slides and diagrams explained the technology of gene splicing and patching. She discussed application on stem cells which in turns provide effective disease models. Pig organs for human transplantation can be immunized by CRISPR-CAS9 system. This research has implications for diagnosis of HIV, Hepatitis-B, Cancer and Blood disorders.
Questions and discussions mainly consisted of the ethical debates of creating monsters and gene-edited organisms. The Speaker believed “CRISPR will one day weave into our physical reality like computers came from the discipline of mathematics.
Succinct remarks were made by Prof. Dheeraj Sanghi, Director, Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh. Shri Dharam Vir, IAS (Retd.) & President SPSTI, paid a vote of thanks to the Speaker and audience as well.
December 10 is the date when the Nobel prizes are formally bestowed. SPSTI has scheduled five more presentations before that date for the general audience: November 17 (Literature),November 21 (Economics), November 28 (Physics), December 05 (Another perspective on Nobel Prize in Chemistry)and December 08 (Peace).
The upcoming lectures are:
- November 17: Nobel Prize in Literature
- November 21: Nobel Prize in Economics
- November 28: Nobel Prize in Physics
- December 05: Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- December 10: Nobel Prize in Peace
How to Join
The Lectures are organized on Zoom Platform with Live Streaming on the Facebook Channel of SPSTI. Follow the credentials below to attend the lectures:
Zoom Meeting ID: 825 160 1295
Passcode: spsti
Facebook Channel: www.facebook.com/spsti