The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to American scientists Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for their discovery of microRNA, a novel class of small RNA molecules that play a vital role in gene regulation. The Nobel Prize committee made the announcement on Monday in Sweden, recognizing their work carried out at the Karolinska Institutet.
Ambros and Ruvkun’s groundbreaking research was conducted using the roundworm C. elegans, revealing a new mechanism of gene regulation. The Nobel Assembly highlighted that their discovery has significant implications for multicellular organisms, including humans, as microRNAs are essential for development and function across species.
In 1993, Ambros and Ruvkun published their findings, demonstrating an unexpected and fundamental level of gene control that has been conserved through evolution. The roundworm, though only 1 mm long, shares many cell types with more complex organisms, such as nerve and muscle cells, making it an ideal model for studying tissue development and differentiation.
The information encoded in our chromosomes serves as a blueprint for all cells in the body, containing identical sets of genes. However, gene regulation ensures that only the necessary instructions are activated in specific cell types. This precise control allows cells like nerve and muscle cells to develop their unique properties. Disruptions in gene regulation can lead to diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and autoimmune disorders, making it a crucial area of study.
In the late 1980s, both Ambros and Ruvkun were postdoctoral researchers in Robert Horvitz’s laboratory. Horvitz was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2002, alongside Sydney Brenner and John Sulston, for related work in genetics.
Victor Ambros, born in 1953 in Hanover, New Hampshire, completed his PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1979. He became a Principal Investigator at Harvard University in 1985 and later a Professor at Dartmouth Medical School. Currently, he holds the position of Silverman Professor of Natural Science at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Gary Ruvkun, born in Berkeley, California in 1952, received his PhD from Harvard University in 1982. He has been a Principal Investigator at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School since 1985, where he is now a Professor of Genetics.
The Nobel Prize in Medicine has been awarded 114 times to 227 laureates, with only 13 women among the recipients. The category was the third established by Alfred Nobel, and winners have been chosen by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institutet since 1901.
The announcements continue throughout the week, with the physics prize on Tuesday, chemistry on Wednesday, literature on Thursday, and the Peace Prize on Friday. The economics award is set for October 14.