Blitz Bureau
STOCKHOLM: The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 2024 has been awarded to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for the discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation.
The information in our chromosomes acts like an instruction manual for all our cells. While every cell contains the same genes, different cell types, like muscle and nerve cells, have unique characteristics. This happens through gene regulation, where each cell activates only the genes it needs.
Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun were curious about how different cell types form. They discovered microRNAs, tiny RNA molecules that play a key role in gene regulation. Their discovery introduced a new concept in gene regulation, now known to be crucial for multicellular organisms, including humans. The human genome contains over a thousand microRNAs, which are essential for development and function.
