American scientists Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun have been awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their groundbreaking discovery of microRNA, small RNA molecules that play a crucial role in gene regulation.
MicroRNA is essential for controlling gene activity, enabling cells to perform various functions in the body. These molecules help explain how different types of cells, such as muscle, nerve, and skin cells, can emerge from the same genetic blueprint in human DNA.
The Nobel committee praised the discovery as a “revolutionary finding” that unveiled a “new principle of gene regulation, critical for multicellular organisms, including humans.”
Ambros, 70, made history in 1993 when he became the first scientist to clone microRNA. Ruvkun, 72, followed in 2000 with his own significant contribution to the field. Ambros is currently a professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, while Ruvkun holds a professorship at Harvard Medical School.
Olle Kämpe, vice chair of the Nobel Assembly, noted that many believed the central questions of gene regulation had already been answered. However, the discovery of microRNA changed the landscape of genetic research. It is now known that the human genome encodes over 1,000 microRNAs, dramatically expanding scientists’ understanding of how cellular processes work.
Though the potential medical applications of microRNA are still being studied, there are promising links to cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and other health conditions.
The prestigious Nobel Prizes, established by Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel in 1896, include a cash prize of 11 million Swedish kronor (approximately €976,000).
From 1901 to 2023, 114 Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine have been awarded, with 13 female laureates. Last year’s prize went to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for their development of the mRNA technology that was key to COVID-19 vaccines.
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