In a major scientific achievement, U.S. scientists Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun have been awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The Nobel Assembly announced on Monday that their discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation is fundamentally transforming our understanding of how organisms develop and function.
Victor Ambros conducted the pivotal studies that led to this prestigious award at Harvard University. He currently imparts his knowledge in natural science at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Gary Ruvkun, a professor at Harvard Medical School, is also affiliated with Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
Thomas Perlmann, secretary of the Nobel committee for physiology, shared that he reached out to Ruvkun early in the morning to deliver the exciting news, resulting in an enthusiastic reaction. Ambros has yet to be contacted.
The journey to this discovery began in the late 1980s when Ambros and Ruvkun undertook postdoctoral studies in the laboratory of Robert Horvitz, a 2002 Nobel laureate. Their research on a 1-millimeter-long roundworm unveiled how specific microRNAs govern organ growth. Initially thought to be unique to the species, further research by Ruvkun's team in 2000 revealed that this mechanism has been vital for over 500 million years across all animal life.
MicroRNAs play a crucial role when single-strand messenger RNA (mRNA) is decoded to produce proteins, the building blocks essential for all human and animal life. mRNA itself emerges from the universal blueprint found in every cell nucleus, the double-helix DNA.
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is traditionally the first to be announced each year, with the remaining five awards set to be revealed in the coming days. Established by the will of Swedish inventor and businessman Alfred Nobel, these prizes have recognized breakthroughs in science, literature, and peace since 1901, with economics being a later addition.
Reference(s):
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