Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun Win 2024 Nobel Prize for Discovering microRNA's Role in Gene Regulation

Oct 7, 2024, 10:02 AM

Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun have been awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation. Their groundbreaking work uncovered a new class of tiny RNA molecules that help regulate gene activity by controlling how genes are expressed. Studying the roundworm C. elegans, the scientists revealed a fundamental principle of gene regulation essential for multicellular organisms, including humans. The Nobel Committee stated that their discovery is 'proving to be fundamentally important for how organisms develop and function.' Made in 1993, their discovery has significant implications for understanding gene function and has advanced the field of molecular biology. Victor Ambros is an alumnus of MIT, and Gary Ruvkun is a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School and an investigator at Massachusetts General Hospital.