Nobel Prize for Medicine goes to US scientists for gene discovery

Two US scientists whose pioneering work helped discover genetic codes that could unlock early tests for killer cancer, were today awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine.

Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun were credited with finding microRNA, tiny genetic codes that controls raft of bodily functions.

One application could eventually be tests to diagnose certain cancers because microRNA becomes altered with certain diseases. 

Every cell in the human body contains the same raw genetic information, locked in our DNA.

But the pair's work explained how bone cells, nerve cells, skin cells, white blood cells, heart cells and many more each use that genetic code in different highly specialised ways.

The duo's 'ground-breaking discovery' has revolutionised medicine's understanding of how our genes work inside the human body, the Nobel Assembly said.

It 'revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation that turned out to be essential for multicellular organisms', they added.

'It is now known that the human genome codes for over one thousand microRNAs.' 

Thomas Perlmann, secretary of the Nobel Committee, announced this year's winner at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

He told the ceremony he had reached Professor Ruvkun by phone, waking him up early in the morning in the US.  

'His wife answered. It took a long time till he came to the phone and he was very tired,' he said.

But Professor Ruvkun was eventually happy and 'very enthusiastic'. He had not yet reached Ambros. 

Professor Ambrose is currently a professor of natural science at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Professor Ruvkun is a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School. 

Past winners in the field include a string of famous researchers, notably Alexander Fleming, who shared the 1945 prize for the discovery of penicillin.

The prizes carry a cash award of 11million Swedish kronor (£810,000). 

The money comes from a bequest left by the prize's creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who died in 1896.

Last year, the Medicine Prize went to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman whose pioneering work helped create mRNA Covid vaccines. 

Before mRNA jabs were rolled out to millions of people worldwide to protect them against Covid, such technology was considered experimental. 

Researchers are now exploring if it could help beat cancer and other diseases.

The Nobel season continues this week with the announcement of the winners of the Physics Prize tomorrow and the Chemistry Prize on Wednesday.

They will be followed by the much-anticipated prizes for Literature on Thursday and Peace on Friday.

The Economics Prize winds things up on Monday, October 14.