Nobel Prize 2024 in Medicine to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for miRNA discovery

The prestigious award is given annually by the Nobel Assembly consisting of 50 professors at Karolinska Institutet, recognising scientists who have made significant contributions to the field of medicine.

In Short

• This year’s Nobel Prize in Medicine focussed on the discovery of mRNA
• The prestigious award is given annually by the Nobel Assembly
• The Nobel Prize announcements are a highly anticipated event

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 2024 has been awarded to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for the discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation.

The information in our chromosomes acts like an instruction manual for all our cells. While every cell contains the same genes, different cell types, like muscle and nerve cells, have unique characteristics. This happens through gene regulation, where each cell activates only the genes it needs.

Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun were curious about how different cell types form. They discovered microRNAs, tiny RNA molecules that play a key role in gene regulation. Their discovery introduced a new concept in gene regulation, now known to be crucial for multicellular organisms, including humans. The human genome contains over a thousand microRNAs, which are essential for development and function.

"This year’s Nobel Prize focuses on the discovery of a vital regulatory mechanism used in cells to control gene activity. Genetic information flows from DNA to messenger RNA (mRNA), via a process called transcription, and then on to the cellular machinery for protein production. There, mRNAs are translated so that proteins are made according to the genetic instructions stored in DNA.," the Nobel Prize release read.

WHO WON THE NOBEL PRIZE IN MEDICINE?

Victor Ambros was born in 1953 in Hanover, New Hampshire, USA. He earned his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1979 and continued there as a postdoctoral researcher until 1985. In 1985, he became a Principal Investigator at Harvard University. From 1992 to 2007, he served as a Professor at Dartmouth Medical School, and he is currently the Silverman Professor of Natural Science at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, MA.

Gary Ruvkun was born in 1952 in Berkeley, California, USA. He received his PhD from Harvard University in 1982, followed by postdoctoral work at MIT from 1982 to 1985. In 1985, he became a Principal Investigator at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, where he is now a Professor of Genetics.

The prestigious award is given annually by the Nobel Assembly consisting of 50 professors at Karolinska Institutet, recognising personnel who have made significant contributions to the field of medicine for the benefit of humankind.

The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Katalin Kariko, and Drew Weissman for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against Covid-19.

The Nobel Prize announcements are a highly anticipated event every October, with committees convening in Stockholm and Oslo to reveal the laureates.

Since its inception in 1901, the Nobel Prize has been awarded to scientists who have made the most important discoveries for the benefit of humankind.

When the inventor, entrepreneur and businessman Alfred Nobel died, his will stated that his fortune was to be used to reward “those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.”