Nobel Prize 2024:
Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun were awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine by the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, on Monday, October 7. Their groundbreaking research on microRNAs and their role in post-transcriptional gene regulation earned them this prestigious honor.
The Nobel Assembly at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute medical university selects the winners for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Each recipient receives a prize sum of 11 million Swedish crowns ($1.1 million).
This year’s Nobel Prize honors two scientists for their discovery of a fundamental principle governing gene expression. Our chromosomes are like instruction manuals for our cells, containing the same genetic information. However, different cell types (like muscle and nerve cells) have unique characteristics.This is because of gene regulation, which allows cells to choose which genes to activate. This ensures that only the necessary genes are turned on in each cell type.
Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun were studying how different cell types develop. They discovered microRNAs, a new type of tiny RNA molecules that regulate genes. Their groundbreaking research revealed a new principle of gene regulation essential for multicellular organisms, including humans
. The human genome contains over a thousand microRNAs. This surprising discovery opened up a new understanding of gene regulation. MicroRNAs are crucial for how organisms grow and function.
This year’s Nobel Prize highlights the discovery of a crucial mechanism that controls gene activity within cells. Genetic information flows from DNA to messenger RNA (mRNA) through transcription, and then to the cellular machinery for protein production. Here, mRNAs are translated into proteins based on the genetic instructions in DNA. Since the mid-20th century, several groundbreaking scientific discoveries have explained these processes.”
“Our organs and tissues contain various cell types, all with the same genetic information in their DNA. Yet, these different cells produce unique sets of proteins. This is due to precise gene regulation, which ensures that only the necessary genes are active in each specific cell type. This allows muscle cells, intestinal cells, and different nerve cells to perform their specialized functions”.
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is the first of the Nobel Prizes, the most prestigious awards in science, literature, and humanitarian work. The remaining five prizes will be announced in the coming days.
