NEWS – Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun awarded Nobel Prize for Medicine.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Recognition: Discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation.
• Significance: Understanding of microRNA’s impact on protein production and gene expression.

What is microRNA?

• Definition: Molecules that help cells regulate protein production.
• Role: Binds with messenger RNA (mRNA) to control the timing of protein synthesis.
• Impact: Crucial for biological processes; disruptions can affect health.

Work of Ambros and Ruvkun

• Research Focus: Studied the roundworm Elegans and its genetic mutations.
• Key Discovery: lin-4 microRNA regulates lin-14 gene by binding to its mRNA, preventing protein production.
• Significance: Breakthrough understanding of gene regulation beyond roundworms.

Importance of Their Work

• Gene Regulation: Critical for normal cell and tissue development.
• Implications: Misregulation can lead to diseases such as cancer, diabetes, or congenital disorders.
• MicroRNA’s Role: Essential for maintaining cellular health over millions of years.

Contribution to Medicine

• Breakthrough: Research opened up new ways to understand genetic diseases.
• Application: Study of microRNA in humans has implications for treating conditions linked to gene regulation errors.

About the Winners

• Victor Ambros: Professor at University of Massachusetts Medical School, PhD from MIT.
• Gary Ruvkun: Professor at Harvard Medical School, PhD from Harvard University.