The Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded on Monday to Americans Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for their discovery of microRNA, a fundamental principle that governs how gene activity is regulated.
The Nobel Assembly said their discovery “is proving to be of fundamental importance for the development and functioning of organisms.”
Ambrose conducted the research that led to his award at Harvard University. He is currently a professor of natural sciences at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Rackham’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 prize includes a cash prize of 11 million Swedish krona (1.4 million Canadian dollars).
The winners are invited to receive their prizes at a ceremony to be held on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death in 1896. The inventor bequeathed much of his fortune in his will to the creation of the prizes awarded in Stockholm and Oslo, although economics was a category added later.
Next week the Nobel Prizes will be announced in several fields, including:
- Tuesday: Physics.
- Wednesday: Chemistry.
- Thursday: Literature:
- Friday: Nobel Peace Prize.
- October 7: Economy.