Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun have been awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their groundbreaking discovery of microRNA, a class of small RNA molecules that play a critical role in gene regulation . Their research, primarily conducted on the model organism _Caenorhabditis elegans_, unveiled mechanisms of gene control that have far-reaching implications for understanding the complexities of cellular processes in multicellular organisms, including humans . This award marks a significant milestone in molecular biology and genetics.
Victor Ambros, who is affiliated with the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and Gary Ruvkun, who is at Harvard Medical School, shared the prize for their work in advancing the understanding of how gene activity is regulated, according to a press release.
Ambros and Ruvkun sought to understand how different types of cells—say, muscle versus nerve—develop, given that they all contain the same chromosomes with the same set of instructions. They discovered “a new class of tiny RNA molecules,” the Nobel committee wrote, which translates DNA into the proper proteins needed for each type of cell.
The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute, a group of 50 professors, decided to award the two for identifying genetic molecules that help control how genes work.
The Nobel Assembly said the discovery is “proving to be fundamentally important for how organisms develop and function.”
In explaining the importance of the work, the group said it “revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation that turned out to be essential for multicellular organisms, including humans.”
If scientists can better understand how they work and how to manipulate them, it could one day lead to powerful treatments for diseases like cancer.
The physics prize carries a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million) from a bequest left by the award's creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. It has been awarded 117 times. The laureates are invited to receive their awards at ceremonies on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death.
Nobel announcements continue with the chemistry physics prize on Wednesday and literature on Thursday. The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced Friday and the economics award on Oct. 14.
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