Nobel Prize in Physiology for Discovery of microRNA

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Nobel Prize in Physiology for Discovery of microRNA

By Teddy Rosenbluth and Derrick Bryson Taylor

Oct. 7, 2024, The New York Times

 

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Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday for the discovery of microRNA, a tiny class of RNA molecules that play a crucial role in determining how organisms mature and function — and how they sometimes malfunction.

 

As its name suggests, microRNA is much shorter than its RNA counterpart. While typical RNA might have hundreds or thousands of basic building blocks, microRNA might have only dozens.

 

What the two Nobel laureates eventually showed was that microRNA act as “controllers” of the process that produces proteins, telling the larger RNA when to slow down or stop.

 

This is important because too much or too little of a given protein can result in diseases like cancer or osteoporosis. Mutations in the genes that have instructions for microRNA have been linked to congenital hearing loss, and eye and skeletal disorders, Nobel Prize officials said.

 

The discovery was originally described in 1993 in two separate papers published in the journal Cell. The first author on Dr. Ambros’s paper was Rosalind Lee, his wife, who celebrated the Nobel committee’s call with him Monday morning.

 

Dr. Ambros said he hoped that their award also highlights the importance of public funding of research. Throughout their careers, the two researchers received more than $62 million from the National Institutes of Health, according to an agency spokeswoman.

 

 

 

Scientists often study the roundworm C. elegans in basic research because they can watch

cells develop through the worm’s transparent body. ABS Natural History/Shutterstock