An Indian-American teen Anika Chebrolu, all of 14 years of age, has made massive news, one that’s trending not only in the United States of America but also in her native India.
And she’s done that, in connection with the greatest destroyer of 2020- the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Apparently, the teenager, currently based in the United States has had an impressive part to play in a discovery of a ‘potential’ cure that could relieve the mankind, as news outlets suggest, of the COVID 19 pandemic.
So how is that and what exactly did this scholastic mind achieve? But before we get into that, let it be known that Anika Chebrolu, from Texas, has also won a cash reward prize of no fewer than 25,000 USD.
Anyone who said even a small discovery could lead to a potential breakthrough might want to use the term ‘small’ only in reference to this bright youngster’s age.
But the biggest question that irks all of humankind, regardless of segregations of color, caste, or creed, at this time is the following: when will the world have a cure to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Not only Russia, but the United Kingdom, the United States, India, among a few other nations are working to find out the cure that can lead the big breakthrough, one that’s keenly awaited.
But thus far, there hasn’t been anything outstanding that could become the huge problem solver.
Regardless of whether Russia found the ‘apt’ solution, as claimed by the Putin-led strongman of the world, one is yet to see a universally applicable solution.
And it is precisely here- in midst of the world desperately trying to search for meaningful answers- that Anika Chebrolu’s discovery that could ‘potentially’ aid mankind becomes all the more important.
In winning the 2030 3M Young Scientist Challenge, the reward for which was the whopping sum of 25,000 USD, Anika Chebrolu is the leading light where it comes to ‘positive news of the day.’
At the heart of her scientific discovery, is an invention that uses in-silico methodology to discover a lead molecule that can actually selectively bind to spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus, as described by the venerable India Today.
But that’s not all. Speaking on the occasion of a ‘could-be’ path-breaking discovery, the avid teenager corresponded with the noted media platform ABC news wherein she explained the following:
“I developed this molecule that can bind to a certain protein on the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This protein by binding to it will stop the function of the protein.”
She would further add what efforts led to the breakthrough that could serve all humankind, reflecting on her journey:
After spending so much time researching about pandemics, viruses and drug discovery, it was crazy to think that I was actually living through something like this.”
That being said, just like there’s often a teacher or a guru who guides one to the path of achievement or fulfillment of one’s goal, Anika Chebrolu also highlighted the importance of a special guiding factor in her life as she exclaimed, “Because of the immense severity of the Covid-19 pandemic and the drastic impact it had made on the world in such a short time, I, with the help of my mentor, changed directions to target the SARS-CoV-2 virus.”
Also Read: India’s COVID-19 Recoveries Cross 6.2 Million
In a year where nothing’s quite gone right for all of us with questions galore, it’s bright to finally find some potential answers to the mayhem maker of 2020, right?