Deepshikha Maan, Jadetimes Staff
D. Maan is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Innovative
Nobel Prize in Medicine 2024 Awarded for Groundbreaking Discovery of MicroRNA
The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to American scientists Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for their pioneering work on microRNA, small molecules that play a critical role in gene regulation. Their research has provided key insights into how complex life forms evolved on Earth and how various tissues in the human body develop from the same genetic blueprint.
MicroRNAs are crucial in controlling the expression of genes, the fundamental instructions for life. They help explain how identical genetic information across all human cells can produce such diverse cell types, such as nerve cells, liver cells, and white blood cells, each with distinct forms and functions. Without the ability to control gene expression, organisms would consist of identical cells, limiting their complexity.
Ambros and Ruvkun were the first to discover microRNAs and their regulatory role in gene expression across different tissues. Their research showed that microRNAs prevent specific genes from being expressed by interfering with messenger RNA (mRNA) in cells, thereby influencing the development of diverse cell types. This discovery is fundamental to our understanding of multicellular life and evolution.
The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden praised their work, stating, "Their groundbreaking discovery revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation that turned out to be essential for multicellular organisms, including humans." It is now known that the human genome encodes over 1,000 microRNAs.
The scientists conducted much of their research on the nematode worm, C. elegans, using mutants that failed to develop certain cell types. Their experiments led to the discovery of microRNAs, tiny genetic fragments that are essential for the organism’s development. Subsequent research showed that this mechanism was not unique to worms but a universal process in life on Earth.
Abnormal microRNA regulation can contribute to diseases such as cancer, congenital hearing loss, and bone disorders. One example is DICER1 syndrome, where mutations affecting microRNAs lead to cancer in multiple tissues. Ambros, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and Ruvkun, a professor at Harvard Medical School, will share the prize fund of 11 million Swedish kronor (approximately £810,000).
The award highlights the significance of their work in understanding gene regulation and its impact on health. Prof Janosch Heller from Dublin City University remarked, "Their pioneering work into gene regulation by microRNAs paved the way for groundbreaking research into novel therapies for devastating diseases such as epilepsy and opened our eyes to the wonderful machinery that controls what happens in our cells."
Previous Nobel Prize Winners in Medicine:
2023 : Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for developing mRNA vaccine technology used against COVID 19.
2022 : Svante Pääbo for his research on human evolution.
2021 : David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian for their work on how the body senses touch and temperature.
2020 : Michael Houghton, Harvey Alter, and Charles Rice for discovering the hepatitis C virus.
2019 : Sir Peter Ratcliffe, William Kaelin, and Gregg Semenza for their work on how cells sense oxygen levels.
