In a groundbreaking recognition, American scientists Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun have been awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their pioneering discovery of microRNA and its crucial role in post-transcriptional gene regulation.
The Nobel Assembly announced on Monday that their work is “proving to be fundamentally important for how organisms develop and function,” highlighting the profound impact of their research on our understanding of genetic expression and developmental biology.
Victor Ambros conducted the prize-winning studies at Harvard University and currently serves as a professor of natural science at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Gary Ruvkun is a professor at Harvard Medical School and is affiliated with Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
Thomas Perlmann, secretary of the Nobel Committee for Physiology, shared that he reached Ruvkun by phone in the early morning, catching him by surprise. “He was eventually happy and very enthusiastic,” Perlmann noted. Attempts to contact Ambros were ongoing at the time of the announcement.
The collaborative journey of Ambros and Ruvkun traces back to the late 1980s when they conducted postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Robert Horvitz, a Nobel laureate in 2002. Studying the tiny 1-millimeter-long roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans, they uncovered how specific microRNAs regulate organ development, a mechanism initially thought to be exclusive to the species.
In 2000, further research published by Ruvkun’s team revealed that this genetic regulatory system is conserved across all animal life, indicating that microRNAs have been integral to biological processes for over 500 million years.
MicroRNAs play a pivotal role in the regulation of gene expression by interfering with messenger RNA (mRNA), which is responsible for translating genetic information from DNA to synthesize proteins, the fundamental building blocks of life. Their discovery has opened new avenues in biomedical research, including potential therapeutic applications for various diseases.
The announcement of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine traditionally marks the beginning of Nobel season. Established in the will of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor and entrepreneur, the Nobel Prizes have honored significant contributions in science, literature, and peace since 1901, with the prize in economics added later.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
