Nobel Prize 2024 in Medicine awarded to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for mRNA discovery

The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for discovering microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation.

A release by the Nobel Prize read, "This year’s Nobel Prize focuses on the discovery of a vital regulatory mechanism used in cells to control gene activity. Genetic information flows from DNA to messenger RNA (mRNA), via a process called transcription, and then on to the cellular machinery for protein production. There, mRNAs are translated so that proteins are made according to the genetic instructions stored in DNA."

BREAKING NEWS
The 2024 #NobelPrize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for the discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation. pic.twitter.com/rg3iuN6pgY

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 7, 2024

The discovery came along as Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun were curious about the formation of different cell types, following which they discovered microRNAs - tiny RNA molecules that play a key role in gene regulation. 

The discovery led to a new concept in gene regulation, now known to be crucial for multicellular organisms, including humans. The human genome contains over a thousand microRNAs, essential for development and function.

Victor Ambros was born in 1953 in Hanover, New Hampshire, USA and earned his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is currently the Silverman Professor of Natural Science at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, MA.

Gary Ruvkun was born in 1952 in Berkeley, California, USA and received his PhD from Harvard University in 1982. He is now a Professor of Genetics at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

The award is given annually by the Nobel Assembly consisting of 50 professors at Karolinska Institutet, recognising personnel who have made significant contributions to the field of medicine for the benefit of humankind.

The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Katalin Kariko, and Drew Weissman for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against Covid-19.