2024 Nobel Prize in Medicine honors Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded Monday to Americans Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for their discovery of microRNA, a fundamental principle that controls the regulation of gene activity.

The Nobel Assembly said its discovery “proves to be fundamentally important for the development and function of organisms.”

Ambros conducted the research that led to his award at Harvard University. He is currently a professor of science at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Ruvkun's research was conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, where he is a professor of genetics, said Thomas Perlmann, secretary general of the Nobel Committee.

Perlmann said he spoke with Ruvkun by phone shortly before the announcement.

“It took him a long time to get on the phone and sounded very tired, but he was pretty quick, very excited and happy when he understood what it was about,” Perlmann said.

Last year, The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to Hungarian-American Katalin Karikó and American Drew Weissman for discoveries that enabled the development of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19, which were crucial to slowing the pandemic.

The price is endowed with a cash prize of 11 million Swedish crowns ($1 million) from a bequest from the prize's initiator, the Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel.

The announcement kicked off this year's Nobel Prize awards season.

The Nobel announcements continue with the Physics Prize on Tuesday, the Chemistry Prize on Wednesday and the Literature Prize on Thursday. The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Friday and the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences on October 14th.

Laureates are invited to receive their awards at ceremonies on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death.

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Corder reported from The Hague, Netherlands.