The role of microRNAs in post-transcriptional gene regulation, or how small worms caused a big breakthrough in genetics
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 2024
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15407/visn2024.12.003Keywords:
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2024, Victor Ambros, Gary Ruvkun, microRNA, regulation of gene activity.Abstract
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2024 was awarded to two American scientists: Victor Ambros, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, and Gary Ruvkun, a molecular biologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School in Boston, “for their discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation”. As stated in the press release of the Nobel Committee, their groundbreaking discovery revealed a completely new vital regulatory mechanism used in cells to control gene activity. MicroRNAs have proven to be fundamentally important for the development and functioning of multicellular organisms, including the humans. It is now known that the human genome codes for over one thousand microRNAs. The discoveries by this year's Nobel Laureates have revealed an entirely new dimension to our understanding of the regulation of gene activity.
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