Two Americans win Nobel Prize in Medicine for the discovery of microRNAs

U.S. researchers Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their discovery of microRNA, a new type of tiny RNA molecule that plays a crucial role in the regulation of gene activity.

"The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute has decided to award the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun 'for the discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation'," wrote the Nobel Prize website in statement announcing the recognition.

The researchers, who collaborate together but work separately, conducted their research using a one-millimeter roundworm, the C. elegans, to determine why and when cell mutations occur.

In this regard, the jury explained that the "revolutionary discovery in the tiny wormC. elegans revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation, which turns out to be essential for multicellular organisms, including humans."

He further highlighted that microRNAs are proving to be fundamentally important for the development and functioning of organisms.

The prize carries an award of 11 million kroner (more than $1 million), to be split in case of multiple winners.