Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun have jointly been awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation. This announcement was made by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm yesterday, October 7. 

The two scientists have been honoured for their discovery of a fundamental principle governing how gene activity is regulated. MicroRNAs are a class of tiny RNA molecules which play an important role in how genes function. They regulate the activities of genes in plants and animals, including humans.

MicroRNAs show great potential in the realm of cancer treatment. Some of these tiny regulators function as suppressors of tumors - effectively halting uncontrolled cell division - whereas others have the ability to stimulate cell division, which could potentially result in cancer.

The awardees’ surprising finding reveals an entirely new dimension to gene regulation. MicroRNAs are proving to be fundamentally important for how organisms develop and function.

Since 1901, the Nobel Prizes have been awarded 621 times as of 2023 - to about 1,000 individuals and organisations. As every year, the Medicine prize is the first of the Nobel’s with the remaining five to be revealed in the coming days.

Last year’s (2023) Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman for their discoveries that led to the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.

About the winners

The 70-year-old Victor Ambros is from New Hampshire, USA. He is the Silverman Professor of Natural Science at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He has a PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he also did postdoctoral research from 1979-1985.

Gary Ruvkun is 72 years of age and is also from USA. He was born in Berkeley, California, and is the Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and an investigator at Massachusetts General Hospital.

The winners for Medicine are selected by the Nobel Assembly of Sweden's Karolinska Institute Medical University and are given a prize money of 11 million Swedish crowns ($1.1 million). The awards are presented during Nobel Week, ending in a ceremony on December 10 which is the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death. The ceremonies take place at the Stockholm Concert Hall in Sweden and Oslo City Hall in Norway.

Source: Media Reports; image credit: NobelPrize.org