American Scientists Win Nobel Prize in Medicine for Breakthrough in Gene Regulation

Two American scientists, Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun, have been awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine “for the discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation,” Bloomberg reports.

The prestigious award, announced by the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, recognizes their groundbreaking research that has shed light on a fundamental process in the regulation of gene expression.

MicroRNAs, tiny RNA molecules, play a critical role in controlling gene expression by silencing specific genes. Ambros and Ruvkun’s discovery has revolutionized our understanding of how genetic information is translated into proteins, opening doors for new insights into various diseases. Their findings have spurred extensive research in diverse fields, including cancer, developmental biology, and neurology.

The Nobel Prize, worth 11 million Swedish krona (approximately $1.1 million), will be shared equally between the two scientists. This latest award follows the 2022 Nobel Prize in Medicine, which celebrated research leading to the development of mRNA vaccines, a technology that has been instrumental in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Nobel Prizes, established by the will of Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, are annually awarded in six categories: Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature, Peace, and Economics.

The announcement of laureates will continue through October 14 in Stockholm, with the exception of the Peace Prize, which is selected by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo.