Two scientists won the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine on Monday for their discovery of microRNA, the first in a week of names to be awarded.
MicroRNA are tiny bits of genetic material that serve as on and off switches inside cells that help control what the cells do and when they do it, AP has reported.
If scientists can better understand how they work and how to manipulate them, it could one day lead to powerful treatments for diseases like cancer.
The work by Americans Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun is “proving to be fundamentally important for how organisms develop and function”, according to a panel that awarded the prize in Stockholm.
Mr Ambros and Mr Ruvkun were initially interested in genes that control the timing of different genetic developments, ensuring that cell types develop at the right time.
Their discovery ultimately “revealed a new dimension to gene regulation, essential for all complex life forms”, the panel said.
Why did they win the prize?
The revolutionary discovery was initially made in worms; they set out to identify why some kinds of cells didn’t develop in two mutant strains of worms commonly used as a research model in science.
“Their groundbreaking discovery revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation that turned out to be essential for multicellular organisms, including humans,” according to the citation explaining the importance of their work.
That mechanism has been at work for hundreds of millions of years and has enabled the evolution of complex organisms, it said.
Ambros, currently a professor of natural science at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, performed the research at Harvard University. Ruvkun’s research was performed at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, where he’s a professor of genetics.
Why does microRNA matter?
The study of microRNA has opened up approaches to treating diseases like cancer because it helps regulate how genes work in our cells, said Dr Claire Fletcher, a lecturer in molecular oncology at Imperial College London.
Dr Fletcher said there were two main areas where microRNA could be helpful: in developing drugs to treat diseases and in serving as possible indicators of diseases, by tracking microRNA levels in the body.
“If we take the example of cancer, we’ll have a particular gene working overtime, it might be mutated and working in overdrive,” said Dr Fletcher. She said scientists might one day be able to use microRNA to stop such effects.
Eric Miska, a geneticist at Cambridge University, said the discovery by Mr Ambros and Mr Ruvkun came as a complete surprise, overturning what scientists had long understood about how cells work.
“It was just a shock that there’s this whole new class of gene,” he said. He added that the human genome has at least 800 microRNAs that are critical to how cells function.
Mr Miska said there was ongoing work on the role of microRNA in infectious diseases like hepatitis and that it might also be helpful in treating neurological diseases.
How did Gary Ruvkun and Victor Ambros react?
The phone call from the Nobel panel is often a surprise, but there are certain signs that recipients and their families pick up on.
“Well, when a phone rings at 4:30 in the morning. … It never happens here,” Ruvkun said.
“Natasha actually answered it,” Mr Ruvkun added, referring to his wife. “And she goes: ‘He has, a Swedish accent.”‘
It took a little longer to rouse Mr Ambros.
“Somebody called my son, who called my wife as my phone was downstairs,” he said.
Mr Ruvkun knew immediately the impact the award would have on his life.
“Well, I just kept repeating in my mind, this changes everything because you know, the Nobel is just mythic in how it transforms the life of people who are selected,” Mr Ruvkun said.
“The Nobel Prize is a recognition that’s sort of 100 times as much press and celebration as any other award. So, it’s not part of a continuum. It’s a quantum leap.”