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.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Ikkis box office Day 1: Agastya Nanda’s war drama earns ₹7 crore, beats trade projections
Mumbai: Ikkis, the latest war drama directed by Sriram Raghavan, has delivered a stronger-than-expected opening at the box office, earning an estimated ₹7 crore net in India on its first day, Hindustan Times reported on Friday.
The film, starring Agastya Nanda, opened in theatres on January 1 across nearly 4,000 screens nationwide. Trade analysts had earlier projected a modest opening of ₹2–2.5 crore, especially given stiff competition from Dhurandhar, which continues to perform strongly at the box office.
Despite these expectations, Ikkis exceeded projections by nearly three times, helped largely by positive word of mouth. As per the report, the film had around 12% occupancy in the morning shows across the country, which jumped to 35% by afternoon, and 47% in the evening, indicating growing audience interest as the day progressed.
While Dhurandhar dominated the day with a reported ₹15 crore collection, trade observers note that Ikkis holding its ground amid such competition is a promising sign, particularly for its performance over the extended opening weekend.
Ikkis is based on the life of Arun Khetarpal, the youngest recipient of India’s highest gallantry award, the Param Vir Chakra. The film chronicles Khetarpal’s exploits and bravery during the 1971 India-Pakistan War. Agastya plays Khetarpal in the film.
While screen legend Dharmendra appears as his father in his final performance, Dharmendra died a little over a month before the film’s release. Ikkis is also among the final films of the late Asrani, who also died late last year. The film also stars Jaideep Ahlawat and Deepak Dobriyal.
