Nobel Prize for Medicine goes to the US duo Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun | News

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Winners are recognized for their discovery of microRNA, a fundamental principle that controls the regulation of gene activity.

Scientists Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun have been announced as winners of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of microRNA and its role in gene regulation, the prize-giving organization said.

The Nobel Assembly said in a statement on Monday that the laureates had discovered the new class of tiny RNA molecules that play a crucial role in gene regulation.

“Their groundbreaking discovery revealed an entirely new principle of gene regulation that turned out to be essential for multicellular organisms, including humans,” the Nobel announcement said.

Ambrose 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.

The Medicine Prize is the first Nobel Prize to be announced each year, with the remaining five to be announced in the coming days.

The winners in medicine will be selected by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institutet Medical University in Sweden and will receive a prize of 11 million Swedish kroner, equivalent to $1.1 million.

The prizes were established according to the will of the Swedish dynamite inventor and businessman Alfred Nobel and have been awarded since 1901 for breakthroughs in the fields of science, literature and peace, with economics later added.

Different institutions award the prizes in different areas, with Peace being the only one awarded in Oslo rather than Stockholm, possibly as a result of the political union that existed between the two Nordic countries when Nobel wrote his will.

Previous winners of the Nobel Prize in Medicine include many famous researchers such as Ivan Pavlov in 1904, best known for his behavioral experiments with dogs, and Alexander Fleming, who shared the prize for the discovery of penicillin in 1945.

Last year's medicine prize went to all-time favorites Katalin Kariko, a Hungarian scientist, and US colleague Drew Weissman for discoveries that paved the way for COVID-19 vaccines that helped contain the pandemic.

The traditional science, literature and economics prizes will be awarded to the winners in a ceremony on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death, followed by a lavish banquet in Stockholm City Hall.

On the same day, special celebrations for the Peace Prize winner will take place in Oslo.