American scientists Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun have been awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of microRNA.

MicroRNA is a tiny but powerful molecule that controls how genes are expressed in the body. 

Unlike messenger RNA (mRNA), which is involved in coding for proteins, miRNA does not encode proteins itself. 

Instead, it regulates gene expression by binding to complementary sequences on target mRNA molecules, effectively blocking the production of proteins. 

This binding can either degrade the mRNA or inhibit its translation into protein, making miRNAs critical for fine-tuning gene expression in various biological processes.

Ambros and Ruvkun first identified microRNA in the early 1990s while studying the roundworm C. elegans. 

Their research uncovered a new mechanism of gene regulation, where microRNAs bind to messenger RNA, preventing the production of certain proteins. 

Initially met with scepticism, their findings have since become fundamental in molecular biology, with implications for cancer research, developmental biology, and beyond.

“MicroRNAs have opened an entirely new avenue in gene regulation,” said Nobel committee deputy chair Olle Kämpe, calling it “a revolutionary discovery that bridges the gap between basic biology and modern medicine.”