2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Awarded to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for Discovering MicroRNAs and Their Role in Gene Regulation

TapTechNews October 7th news, the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded today to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun to recognize their discovery of microRNAs and their role in post-transcriptional gene regulation.

TapTechNews note: Victor Ambros is an American developmental biologist, and Gary Ruvkun is an American molecular biologist.

This year's Nobel Prize was awarded to two scientists in recognition of their discovery of a core principle in the regulation of gene activity.

The information stored in chromosomes can be regarded as the operation manual for each cell in our body. Each cell carries the same chromosomes, meaning that each cell has exactly the same genes and instruction sets. But different types of cells, such as muscle cells and nerve cells, have significant differences. How does this difference arise? The key lies in gene regulation, which helps cells select those instructions related to their own functions and ensures that different types of cells only activate genes related to their functions.

Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun focused on the development process of different cell types and discovered microRNAs - a new type of small RNA molecules that play a key role in gene regulation. Their breakthrough discovery revealed a completely new gene regulation mechanism, which is crucial for multicellular organisms including humans. Now we know that the human genome encodes more than a thousand microRNAs. This discovery has opened up new perspectives for gene regulation research, and microRNAs have also been proven to play a fundamental role in the development and normal functions of organisms.