'Revealed New Dimension To Gene Regulation': American Scientists Get Nobel Prize In Physiology Or Medicine For Discovery Of MicroRNA

This year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded jointly to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for the discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation.

"Their groundbreaking discovery revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation that turned out to be essential for multicellular organisms, including humans," the press release said.

It is now known that the human genome codes for over 1,000 microRNAs. Their surprising discovery revealed an entirely new dimension to gene regulation.

MicroRNAs are proving to be fundamentally important for how organisms develop and function. This mechanism has enabled the evolution of increasingly complex organisms.

Abnormal regulation by microRNA can contribute to cancer, and mutations in genes coding for microRNAs have been found in humans, causing conditions such as congenital hearing loss, eye and skeletal disorders.

"Ambros and Ruvkun’s seminal discovery in the small worm C. elegans was unexpected, and revealed a new dimension to gene regulation, essential for all complex life forms," the release added.

Both the scientists hail from the United States. While Ambros received his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Ruvkun received from Harvard University.

Currently, Ambros is now Silverman Professor of Natural Science at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, while Ruvkun is a professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School.