TAG: GS: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
THE CONTEXT:
The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to scientists Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun. They were recognised for discovering microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation.
EXPLANATION:
The Discovery of MicroRNA:
- Ambros and Ruvkun’s research led to the discovery of microRNA (miRNA)—tiny RNA molecules that play a big role in gene regulation. These small pieces of RNA help control which genes are active in a cell. Their research found that humans have over a thousand different microRNAs, and they are important for growth, development, and many other processes.
What is Gene Regulation?
Inside every cell, genes act like instructions that tell the cell how to function. Even though all the cells in our body have the same genes, they can behave very differently. For example, muscle cells and nerve cells look and act differently, even though they share the same genetic code. This happens because only certain genes are turned on in each cell type, depending on what the cell needs to do. This process is called gene regulation.
About microRNA:
- microRNAs are small non-coding RNA (single-stranded molecules playing key role in turning DNA instructions into proteins) that helps cells regulate gene expression.
- microRNA controls gene expression by binding with mRNA and preventing them from being translated into proteins or by degrading mRNA altogether.
- There are more than a thousand genes for different microRNAs in humans, and gene regulation by microRNA is universal among multicellular organisms.
Other Roles of microRNA:
- Cellular Development: Involved in the differentiation of stem cells and development of tissues and organs.
- Immune Response: miRNAs regulate innate and adaptive immune responses.
- Oncogenesis: Dysregulation of miRNAs is associated with cancer development, while they may also act as tumour suppressors.
- Disease diagnostics: Used as biomarkers for diseases such as cancer, parkinson disease etc.
Introducing the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Scientist:
Gary Ruvkun
Gary Ruvkun was born in March 1952 in Berkeley, California. He is known for his work in explaining how the gene lin-4 controls messenger RNA, which carries genetic information used to make proteins. He also discovered the second microRNA, called let-7. Ruvkun is a professor at Harvard Medical School, where he continues to research microRNAs and how they influence cell behavior. He has received many honors for his contributions to genetics and biology.
Victor Ambros
Victor Ambros was born in 1953 in Hanover, New Hampshire. He made a major discovery in 1993 when he identified the first microRNA from a gene called lin-4 in a tiny roundworm species, C. elegans. This discovery was a big step forward in understanding how cells develop and change. Ambros has taught at several universities, including the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and has earned numerous awards for his groundbreaking research.
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