In recognition of their pioneering work on gene regulation, the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for their discovery of microRNA and its essential role in controlling gene activity. The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm made the announcement on 7th October 7, lauding their contributions to understanding how genes are regulated at the post-transcriptional level.
Ambros and Ruvkun’s discovery of microRNA, a small RNA molecule, has transformed our knowledge of gene expression. Their work has shed light on how cells, despite sharing the same genetic material, can develop into different types, such as nerve or muscle cells. This fundamental mechanism is crucial for the proper development and functioning of multicellular organisms, including humans.
“Their groundbreaking discovery revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation that turned out to be essential for multicellular organisms, including humans,” the Nobel Assembly said. The duo will share a prize of 11 million Swedish kronor (approximately £810,000).
MicroRNA regulates gene activity by binding to messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules, blocking the production of proteins and ensuring the correct genes are active in each cell type. The Assembly noted that this year’s award “focuses on the discovery of a vital regulatory mechanism used in cells to control gene activity.”
Initially, the discovery, which was made in the early 1990s while studying a tiny roundworm C. elegans, was met with skepticism by the scientific community. However, by 2000, further research by Ruvkun and others revealed that microRNA regulation is not only present in worms but is also conserved across the animal kingdom, including humans. It is now known that the human genome contains more than 1,000 different microRNAs, which play crucial roles in normal development and disease.
Victor Ambros, currently the Silverman Professor of Natural Science at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and Gary Ruvkun, a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, join the ranks of only 13 women and 229 total laureates since the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was first awarded in 1901.
The Nobel Assembly emphasized that understanding gene regulation by microRNA opens new avenues for treating conditions where this process goes awry, such as cancer, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases.
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