Monday, October 07, 2024 - Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun have won this year’s Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for their work on the discovery of microRNA, a fundamental principle governing how gene activity is regulated.
The Nobel Prize committee announced the prestigious honor,
seen as the pinnacle of scientific achievement, in Sweden on Monday, October 7.
It praised the American biologists’ “groundbreaking
discovery,” which the committee said “revealed an entirely new dimension to
gene regulation.”
Ambros and Ruvkun discovered microRNA, a new class of tiny
RNA molecules (nucleic acids essential for most biological functions) that are
essential for gene regulation.
The discovery helped to reveal that the human genome codes
for over 1,000 microRNAs.
Ambros, a professor of natural science at the University of
Massachusetts Medical School, conducted the research that earned him the prize
at Harvard University. Ruvkun conducted his research at Massachusetts General
Hospital, and is a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School.
In their early work, the pair studied the genetic make-up of
a tiny 1 millimeter-long roundworm, C. elegans. Despite its small size, this
worm possesses many specialized cell types, such as nerve and muscle cells,
that are also found in larger, more complex animals, making it a useful model
for investigating how tissues develop and mature in multicellular organisms.
“The information stored within our chromosomes can
be likened to an instruction manual for all cells in our body. Every cell
contains the same chromosomes, so every cell contains exactly the same set of
genes and exactly the same set of instructions,” the committee said in a
statement, detailing the duo’s work.
And yet, different cell types – such as muscle and nerve
cells – have different characteristics. The two biologists have spent their
careers investigating how these differences arise.
“The answer lies in gene regulation, which allows each cell
to select only the relevant instructions. This ensures that only the correct
set of genes is active in each cell type,” the committee said.
Last year, the prize was awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew
Weissman for their work on MRNA vaccines, a crucial tool in curtailing the
spread of Covid-19.
The prize carries a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor
($1 million).
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