Victor Ambros (L) and Gary Ruvkun (R) were awarded the prize for the discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation. Photo; X/@NobelPrize

Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun have been awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology 2024, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on Monday (October 7, 2024).

They were awarded the prestigious prize for the discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation.

“Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun were interested in how different cell types develop. They discovered microRNA, a new class of tiny RNA molecules that play a crucial role in gene regulation,” The Nobel Assembly said in a press statement.

Ambros and Ruvkun’s groundbreaking discovery, they said, 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 codes for over one thousand microRNAs.

“Their surprising discovery revealed an entirely new dimension to gene regulation. MicroRNAs are proving to be fundamentally important for how organisms develop and function.”

Last year the Nobel Prize for Physiology was jointly awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for their “discoveries concerning nucleoside base modification that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19”,

Also read: The Nobel Prize 2024 — an interactive guide

The Prize for Physiology or Medicine kicks off a week of Nobel Prize announcements. The winners for Physics will be announced on October 8, followed by Chemistry on October 9. The winners of the Literature, Peace and Economic Sciences Prize will be declared on October 10, October 11, and October 14 respectively.

The prizes carry a cash award of 10 million Swedish kronor (nearly $900,000) and will be awarded on December 10.

Also Read:2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology: What are mRNA vaccines and how do they work? | Explained

The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who in his will dictated that his estate should be used to fund “prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind”.