3 win Nobel medicine award for hepatitis C virus discovery
Stockholm: Americans Harvey J Alter and Charles M Rice, and British scientist Michael Houghton were awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology on Monday for the discovery of the hepatitis C virus.
Announcing the prize in Stockholm on Monday, the Nobel Committee noted that the trio's work helped explain a major source of blood-borne hepatitis that couldn't be explained by the hepatitis A and B viruses.
Their work make possible blood tests and new medicines that have saved millions of lives, the committee said.
Thanks to their discovery, highly sensitive blood tests for the virus are now available and these have essentially eliminated post-transfusion hepatitis in many parts of the world, greatly improving global health, the committee said.
Their discovery also allowed the rapid development of antiviral drugs directed at hepatitis C, it added. For the first time in history, the disease can now be cured, raising hopes of eradicating hepatitis C virus from the world population.
The World Health Organisation estimates there are over 70 million cases of hepatitis worldwide and 400,000 deaths each year. The disease is chronic and a major cause of liver inflammation and cancer.
The prestigious Nobel award comes with a gold medal and prize money of 10 million Swedish kronor (over USD 1,118,000), courtesy of a bequest left 124 years ago by the prize's creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel.
The medicine prize carried particular significance this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has highlighted the importance that medical research has for societies and economies around the world.
The Nobel Committee often recognizes basic science that has laid the foundations for practical applications in common use today.
The award is the first of six prizes being announced through October 12. The other prizes are for outstanding work in the fields of physics, chemistry, literature, peace and economics.
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Student accuses company of duping her with part-time job offer; Kadri Police file case
Mangaluru: Kadri Police have filed a case against Vexon Company of Kudroli in the city for allegedly duping students with an offer of part-time employment.
The complainant, learned to be a student, has cited the names of Vexon Company founder Digvijay Desai, co-founders Ramachandra Shevale, Sunil Savanth and Anan Ahair, Mangaluru unit staff members Pallavi, Anjali, Navya, Nivish, Jayashri and Junaid. She has accused these people of having given false information to students and other job aspirants to gain their trust and then duping them.
In January, the complainant reportedly received a call from Navya, who offered a part-time job from 2 pm to 5 pm, for a pay of Rs 15,000 to Rs 30,000 a month. Navya also said that the applicant would have to pay Rs 2,500 for the software, data entry and residence and food that would be provided during training.
Finding the offer agreeable, the student paid the said amount and joined the company as a trainee, reportedly along with other job aspirants. She was told to ensure business with client companies, purchase of things worth Rs 51,000 from other companies and get more employees for the company. She was assured of a commission if she turned successful in the work.
The complainant is said to have told the police that a man identified as Nivesh paid her Rs 51,000 through Google Pay, but the items handed to her by the company were substandard. In addition, while initially she was told the work would be on software and data entry, she was later not only brainwashed to act as they demanded but also harassed mentally by forcing her to get others to join the company. She was also forced to sign on the records of the company, the complainant has told the police.
