The Nobel Assembly at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute announced on Monday that US scientists Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun had been awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their discovery of microRNA and its function in the regulation of genes, which had been a long-standing enigma.
Errors in gene control can result in major disorders like diabetes, cancer, or autoimmune diseases.
“Their innovative finding unveiled an entirely novel concept of gene control, which ultimately proved to be indispensable for multicellular creatures, such as humans,” the jury declared.
Ruvkun expressed his surprise at receiving the esteemed award.
The 72-year-old Harvard Medical School professor told AFP that it “is quite a sea change” after learning of the news over the phone in the wee hours of Monday morning from the prize committee.
“Those were very quiet in comparison to other awards I’ve won.”
As additional reporters arrived, he said, “There are already 300 email messages from friends, TV crews, and photographers!” as his dog whined at the front door.
Ruvkun revealed that he and Ambros are “buddies” and that morning they had a congrats via video chat.
“We had just a FaceTime high five. Our friendship dates back many years.
In an interview with Swedish public radio SR, Ruvkun expressed his excitement for the December 10 Nobel gala luncheon in Stockholm, where Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf will present the laureates with their awards.
“A celebration is taking place. Although we scientists don’t usually think of ourselves as party animals, we truly are,” he remarked.
Both of them will be “celebrating like crazy,” Ruvkun told AFP, describing Ambros as “always positive and wonderful.”
Ambros was not able to receive the news over the phone from the Nobel committee. Instead, a reporter from SR contacted and told him about it.
“Whoa, that’s amazing! The 70-year-old professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School remarked, “I didn’t know that. Good. Fantastic.
Ruvkun and Ambros collaborated but carried out independent research on a millimeter roundworm, C. elegans, to ascertain the cause and timing of cell mutations.
They found microRNA, a novel class of small RNA molecules that are essential for the regulation of genes, enabling each cell to choose only the instructions that are pertinent to it.
Two articles containing their findings were released in 1993.
“A new and unexpected mechanism of gene regulation has been introduced by the seminal discovery of microRNA,” Nobel Assembly secretary general Thomas Perlmann told reporters.
“Our understanding of normal cell physiology, diseases like cancer, and embryological development depends on microRNAs,” he stated.
- Clinical trials are being conducted
Professor of biology at the Karolinska Institute Gunilla Karlsson Hedestam stated to reporters that “even if microRNAs haven’t been shown to have many clear uses yet, recognizing them, knowing that they exist, and understanding their counter regulatory networks, is always the first step.”
She stated, “There are quite a few trials against cancer as well as other diseases, cardiovascular, and kidney diseases.”
A diploma, a gold medal, and a $1 million check to be split by the two people are the three components of the Nobel Prize.
Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman won the Nobel Prize in medicine last year for their research on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, which opened the door for Covid-19 vaccinations.
This week’s Nobel season will culminate on Tuesday with the announcement of the physics award winner and the chemistry prize winner on Wednesday.
The much awaited literary and peace prizes will take place on Thursday and Friday, respectively, after them.
Things come to an end on Monday, October 14, with the economics prize.
Regarding the physics prize on Tuesday, Swedish public radio The award could be given to Swiss physicist Christoph Gerber, who was instrumental in the invention of the atomic force microscope, according to SR’s science experts.
According to SR science writer Camilla Widebeck, “this is a microscope that gives 3D images on such an incredibly small scale that they are sometimes even atomic resolution.”
She went on to say that the instrument is now essential in nanotechnology and nano research.
David Deutsch and Peter Shor were also recognized by the Clarivate analytics division for their contributions to quantum computers and quantum algorithms.
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