Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Shot in the arm: On the Medicine Nobel 2023

Shot in the arm: On the Medicine Nobel 2023

The success of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines (टीका) picked the Nobel winners this year

All nominees (नामांकित व्यक्ति, उम्मीदवार) for the Nobel Prize in Physiology (the branch of biology that deals with the functions and processes of living organisms, both animals and plants) or Medicine have path-breaking (अग्रणी) achievements to their credit, but often, the final choice of the winner might have a lot to do with the timing and the context (सन्दर्भ, प्रसंग). Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman would have thus been safe bets (सुरक्षित दांव) for their work that enabled (सक्षम) the development (विकास, प्रगति) of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19. The 2023 Nobel announcement comes as no surprise (कोई आश्चर्य नहीं), given (दिया गया) that the benefits of the discovery are still keeping people alive and out of hospitals. It also ticks all the boxes: the Nobel prize for Medicine must be awarded for a discovery that would confer (प्रदान करना) the ‘greatest benefit on mankind (मानव जाति, मानवता)’ which mRNA undoubtedly did. This Nobel is also significant in that it recognises (admit, accept, appreciate, acknowledge, realize; reward, honour, acclaim, commend, give recognition to) the contribution of a woman of science: 13 women have now won the Nobel Prize for Medicine (out of 225 awarded); and only 62 women have won any Nobel Prize (against 894 men) so far (until now, up to the present, up to this point, thus far, hitherto).

The best outcomes inevitably (अनिवार्य रूप से) emerge from intersectoral (अंतरक्षेत्रीय) collaborations (सहयोग), and steadfast (firm, resolute, determined, insistent, single-minded) scientific research conducted against all odds (if yo do/achieve something against all odds, you do/achieve it despite (it) appeared impossible or very unlikely). Hungarian biochemist (a person who studies biochemistry (i.e., the chemical principles of living things and of biological processes)) Katalin Karikó became fascinated (attract, spellbind, engage, delight, interest) with mRNA when it was a mere possibility. In human cells, genetic (आनुवंशिक) information encoded (to specify the genetic code (for a particular amino acid/a protein)) in DNA ((figuratively) the basic/fundamental qualities/characteristics of someone/something) is transferred to messenger RNA (mRNA) and this is then used as a template for protein production. Proteins are the main structural component of cells, and play a key role in growth and repair. During the 1980s, a method called in vitro (Latin, literally ‘in glass’; (relating to the process of fertilization in a test tube or outside the body, whereas “in vivo” literally means ‘in a living thing’)) transcription (as related to genomics, it is the process of making an RNA copy of a gene’s DNA sequence. This copy, called messenger RNA (mRNA), carries the gene’s protein information encoded in DNA. In humans and other complex organisms, mRNA moves from the cell nucleus to the cell cytoplasm (watery interior), where it is used for synthesizing the encoded protein) permitted the idea of using mRNA for vaccine and therapy to take off (succeed, become successful, become popular, do well), but enthusiasm (zeal, energy, eagerness, keenness, willingness, readiness) to work on this flagged (indicate, point out, identify; draw attention to something) as several hurdles (obstacle, difficulty, problem, barrier, impediment, obstruction, hindrance) emerged, including challenges in delivery and inflammatory (relating to the body’s immune system’s response to an irritant. causing swelling, irritant) reactions. Undeterred (not discouraged; determined, ambitious), Karikó kept on the course of developing methods to use mRNA for therapy, when she was an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania. She was then joined by immunologist (a specialist in immunology (the branch of medicine and biology relate to immunity)) Weissman, who was studying dendritic cells (Dendritic cells (DCs) are professional antigen presenting cells that inform the fight against invasive pathogens while enforcing tolerance to self and harmless environmental antigens) that have important functions in immune surveillance (immunosurveillance; the continuous monitoring process of the immune system whereby abnormal cells are recognized and destroyed) and activation of vaccine-induced (produced by vaccine) immune responses. Over the years, by making base modifications to the mRNA they managed to ease (assist, make easy, facilitate) delivery paths and get rid of (do away with, throw away, remove, dispense with, exclude, drop, abandon, forgo, discard) the inflammatory reactions. An inchoate (unclear, confused; disordered) idea was finally teased (make fun of, laugh at, ridicule, deride) into fruition (realization, achievement, accomplishment/completion). This was in 2005, 15 years before the COVID-19 pandemic (the worldwide spread of a new disease; The illness spreads around the world and typically affects a large number of people across a wide area). But the time and context arrived in 2019, when scientists taught the mRNA vaccine to instruct human cells to make the S protein found on the surface of the COVID-19 virus. This causes the body to create antibodies which will fight the virus if the individual were to contract (develop, catch, become infected with, fall ill with, be taken ill with (a disease)) the infection. The rest, of course (certainly, obviously, definitely, needless to say, it goes without saying), is history.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.vaccine (noun)

Hindi Meaning - टीका
English Meaning - a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease.

2.nominee (noun)

Hindi Meaning - नामांकित व्यक्ति, उम्मीदवार
English Meaning - candidate.

3.path-breaking (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - अग्रणी
English Meaning - pioneering; innovative.

4.context (noun)

Hindi Meaning - सन्दर्भ, प्रसंग
English Meaning - circumstances, conditions, situations, factors.

5.safe bet (noun)

Hindi Meaning - सुरक्षित दांव
English Meaning - something that is almost certainly true; something that is surely to happen; something that is very likely to be successful.

6.enable (verb)

Hindi Meaning - सक्षम
English Meaning - make (something) possible; prepare, facilitate.

7.development (noun)

Hindi Meaning - विकास, प्रगति
English Meaning - progress, progression, advancement, improvement, growth.

8.come as no surprise (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - कोई आश्चर्य नहीं
English Meaning - something which is not surprising someone, but is as expected one.

9.given (preposition)

Hindi Meaning - दिया गया
English Meaning - considering, taking into account, bearing in mind.

10.confer (verb)

Hindi Meaning - प्रदान करना
English Meaning - grant, bestow, present/give.

11.mankind (noun)

Hindi Meaning - मानव जाति, मानवता
English Meaning - humanity, humankind, the human race, human beings, humans, people.

12.inevitably (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - अनिवार्य रूप से
English Meaning - unavoidably, certainly, definitely.

13.intersectoral (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - अंतरक्षेत्रीय
English Meaning - between two/more sectors.

14.collaboration (noun)

Hindi Meaning - सहयोग
English Meaning - cooperation, alliance, joint effort, partnership.

15.genetic (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - आनुवंशिक
English Meaning - relating to genes.

16.a shot in the arm (phrase)

English Meaning - (figuratively) boost, fillip, stimulus, impetus, encouragement; (literally) an injection of medical drugs.

17.mRNA vaccine (noun)

English Meaning - The vaccine is a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine, which stands for “messenger ribonucleic acid”. Messenger RNA is essentially the blueprint that living cells use to turn gene sequences into the proteins that form their fundamental structures. Once injected, the mRNA in the vaccine is translated into a viral protein, which our immune systems detect. The body generates an immune response in reaction to these viral proteins, which can’t by themselves cause disease, and this provides protection against developing Covid-19.

18.m-RNA technology (noun)

English Meaning - messenger RNA technology; the set of instructions by which cells make all proteins and send them to various parts of the body. mRNA medicines take advantage of normal biological processes to express proteins and create a desired therapeutic effect.

19.physiology (noun)

English Meaning - the branch of biology that deals with the functions and processes of living organisms, both animals and plants.

20.to one’s credit (phrase)

English Meaning - used to mention that someone deserves praise/admiration.

21.have to do with (phrase)

English Meaning - be connected with something) to the extent mentioned.

22.keep alive (phrase)

English Meaning - keep up, keep going, cause to continue, support, perpetuate, preserve, sustain, prolong.

23.tick all the boxes (phrase)

English Meaning - to fulfill all the requirements.

24.recognise (verb)

English Meaning - admit, accept, appreciate, acknowledge, realize; reward, honour, acclaim, commend, give recognition to.

25.so far (phrase)

English Meaning - until now, up to the present, up to this point, thus far, hitherto.

26.steadfast (adjective)

English Meaning - firm, resolute, determined, insistent, single-minded.

27.against all odds (phrase)

English Meaning - if yo do/achieve something against all odds, you do/achieve it despite (it) appeared impossible or very unlikely.

28.biochemist (noun)

English Meaning - a person who studies biochemistry (i.e., the chemical principles of living things and of biological processes).

29.fascinate (verb)

English Meaning - attract, spellbind, engage, delight, interest.

30.encode (verb)

English Meaning - to specify the genetic code (for a particular amino acid/a protein).

31.Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) (noun)

English Meaning - DNA is an important biological macromolecule (nucleic acid) that replicates and stores genetic information. It is a blueprint for all genetic information contained within an organism. DNA has two strand structure. DNA is found in the cell’s nucleus.

32.DNA (noun)

English Meaning - (figuratively) the basic/fundamental qualities/characteristics of someone/something.

33.template (noun)

English Meaning - the template strand is one of the DNA strands whose base sequence helps in building mRNA through complementary base sequencing. Both template and coding strand are the two distinct strand of the double-stranded DNA, in which the former works as a base to transcribe mRNA, and the latter determines the correct base sequence of the mRNA.

34.play a role or play a part (phrase)

English Meaning - contribute to, be instrumental in, be a factor in.

35.in vitro (adjective)

English Meaning - Latin, literally ‘in glass’; (relating to the process of fertilization in a test tube or outside the body, whereas “in vivo” literally means ‘in a living thing’).

36.vitro transcription (noun)

English Meaning - a widely used technique to produce RNA from DNA templates in the laboratory.

37.Transcription (noun)

English Meaning - as related to genomics, it is the process of making an RNA copy of a gene’s DNA sequence. This copy, called messenger RNA (mRNA), carries the gene’s protein information encoded in DNA. In humans and other complex organisms, mRNA moves from the cell nucleus to the cell cytoplasm (watery interior), where it is used for synthesizing the encoded protein.

38.take off (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - succeed, become successful, become popular, do well.

39.enthusiasm (noun)

English Meaning - zeal, energy, eagerness, keenness, willingness, readiness.

40.flag (verb)

English Meaning - indicate, point out, identify; draw attention to something.

41.hurdle (noun)

English Meaning - obstacle, difficulty, problem, barrier, impediment, obstruction, hindrance.

42.inflammatory (adjective)

English Meaning - relating to the body’s immune system’s response to an irritant. causing swelling, irritant.

43.undeterred (adjective)

English Meaning - not discouraged; determined, ambitious.

44.keep on the course (phrase)

English Meaning - stay the course; continue doing something in spite of difficulties; to continue doing something till the end even though it is tough/challenging; work hard till the end to accomplish the task.

45.immunologist (noun)

English Meaning - a specialist in immunology (the branch of medicine and biology relate to immunity).

46.Dendritic cells (DCs) (plural noun)

English Meaning - Dendritic cells (DCs) are professional antigen presenting cells that inform the fight against invasive pathogens while enforcing tolerance to self and harmless environmental antigens.

47.immune surveillance (noun)

English Meaning - immunosurveillance; the continuous monitoring process of the immune system whereby abnormal cells are recognized and destroyed.

48.surveillance (noun)

English Meaning - monitoring, observation, scrutiny, inspection.

49.vaccine-induced (adjective)

English Meaning - produced by vaccine.

50.ease (verb)

English Meaning - assist, make easy, facilitate.

51.get rid of (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - do away with, throw away, remove, dispense with, exclude, drop, abandon, forgo, discard.

52.inchoate (adjective)

English Meaning - unclear, confused; disordered.

53.tease (verb)

English Meaning - make fun of, laugh at, ridicule, deride.

54.fruition (noun)

English Meaning - realization, achievement, accomplishment/completion.

55.pandemic (noun)

English Meaning - the worldwide spread of a new disease; The illness spreads around the world and typically affects a large number of people across a wide area.

56.S-gene (noun)

English Meaning - the S-gene encodes a surface protein, the spike protein.

57.spike (S) protein (noun)

English Meaning - spike (S) protein is the sole viral membrane protein responsible for coronavirus entry into host cells.

58.antibody (noun)

English Meaning - it is also called ‘immunoglobulin’; a protective protein produced mainly by plasma (blood) cells in the immune system in response to the presence of antigens (disease causing organisms (bacteria & viruses) and other harmful/toxic foreign substances like insect venom).

59.contract (verb)

English Meaning - develop, catch, become infected with, fall ill with, be taken ill with (a disease).

60.of course (phrase)

English Meaning - certainly, obviously, definitely, needless to say, it goes without saying.

61.the rest is history (phrase)

English Meaning - an indication that you do not need to tell them what happened next because everyone knows about it already.