Victor Ambros, an American developmental biologist, and Gary Bruce Ruvkun, an American molecular biologist, were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2024 by the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
- They were honoured “for the discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation”.
- The award was announced by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on 7th October 2024.
Note: Nobel Prizes will be annually presented to laureates at a ceremony held on 10th December, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.
Medal of Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine:
i.The medal was designed by Swedish sculptor and engraver Erik Lindberg.
ii.The medal depicts Genius of Medicine holding an open book in her lap, collecting the water pouring out from a rock in order to quench a sick girl’s thirst.
iii.The inscription on the medal is “Inventas vitam iuvat excoluisse per artes” which means “It is beneficial to have improved (human) life through discovered arts.”
Winners of Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2024:
| Nobel Laureate | Awarded for |
|---|---|
| Victor Ambros | for the discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation |
| Gary Bruce Ruvkun |
About Victor Ambros:
Victor Ambros is the Silverman Chair in Natural Sciences and Professor of the Program in Molecular Medicine at Silverman Professor of Natural Sciences at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, the United States of America (USA).
About Gary Bruce Ruvkun:
Gary Bruce Ruvkun is a Professor of Genetics at the Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, USA and an investigator at Massachusetts General Hospital.
MicroRNAs:
MicroRNAs, or miRNAs, are small, non-coding molecules of RNA.
- They are typically around 19-24 nucleotides long and play an vital role in determining how much messenger RNA (mRNA), which carries genetic information, eventually gets translated into protein.
Scientific background:
i.Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun discovered microRNA, a new class of tiny RNA molecules that play a crucial role in gene regulation.
ii.MicroRNAs and their mode of gene regulation remained completely unknown until the discovery by Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun in 1993.
iii.They investigated mutant C. elegans nematodes with developmental defects caused by alterations at the lin-4 and lin-14 genetic loci.
iv.Their discovery in the small worm C. elegans revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation.
Facts on Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine:
i.115 Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine have been awarded to 229 individuals between 1901 and 2024.
- 40 Nobel Prizes in Medicine were presented to a single laureate while 36 were shared between 2 laureates and 39 were shared between 3 laureates.
- The 229 laureates include 13 women among which Barabara McClintock is the only one who has received an unshared Nobel Prize.
ii.It was not awarded on 9 occasions – in 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1921, 1925, 1940, 1941 and 1942.
Points to note:
i.Youngest Laureate – Frederick G. Banting, awarded at the age of 31, “for the discovery of Insulin”.
ii.Oldest Laureate – Peyton Rous, awarded at the age of 87, “for his discovery of tumour-inducing viruses”
iii.First Woman – Gerty Theresa Cori was the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
- She along with her husband, Carl Ferdinand Cori, received the award in 1947 “for their discovery of the course of the catalytic conversion of glycogen”.
iv.So far, no one has won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine more than once.
v.The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was shared between Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman “for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19”
Laureate of Indian Origin:
Har Gobind Khorana, the Indian-born American biochemist, shared the 1968 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Marshall W. Nirenberg and Robert W. Holley for “for their interpretation of the genetic code and its function in protein synthesis”.
About the Nobel Prize:
i.The Nobel Prize is an international award administered by the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden, that recognises discoveries and achievements that benefit humanity.
ii.The award is based on the fortune of Alfred Nobel, a Swedish inventor and entrepreneur.
iii.Since 1901, the Nobel Prize has been awarded in the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace.
Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden’s central bank) established the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel in 1968.
Prize Money: Winners of the Nobel Prize will receive a medal, a personal diploma, and a cash award.
- The cash award of Nobel Prize 2024 is set at Swedish kronor (SEK) 11 million per full Nobel Prize.
Click here for Key facts about the Nobel Prize
