This year, the American research couple who discovered microRNA were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine.
Messenger RNA
American scientists Victor Ambros and Gary Rovkun were awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Medicine for their discovery of microRNA and its crucial role in the growth and life of multicellular organisms.
Rovkun, who is of Jewish descent, contributed to the scientific understanding of diseases such as epilepsy through the results of his research.
Their work helped explain how cells specialize and develop into different types, such as muscle cells and nerve cells, even though each cell in an individual contains the same set of genes and instructions for growth and survival.
In 2014, the duo won Israel's prestigious Wolf Prize, widely considered a precursor to the Nobel Prize. Rovkun, who is of Jewish descent, previously won the prestigious Dan David Prize at Tel Aviv University. “It was great. He is a wonderful person,” Rovkun added over the phone. Ambros supported this by saying that he was happy to share the award with a “great friend.”
Victor Ambrose and Gary Ruvkun
Rovkun now joins the ranks of Jewish Nobel Prize laureates in medicine. the According to Jinfu Researchers of Jewish origin constitute about 26% of all Nobel Prize laureates in medicine in the world.
His parents are the late Sam and Doron Rovkun Sam and Dora Rufkun Endowment for Advanced Project Planning A foundation was established under the name that supports various programs and universities, including Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan and the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot.
Rovkun is not only associated with Jews or Israel; Fellow researcher Ambros, who is not Jewish, was listed as a donor to Hand in Hand – the Jewish-Arab educational center in Israel in 2017. Hand in Hand runs 14 schools across the country that use a comprehensive, bilingual approach to education.
Gary Rufkun
“Amazing discovery”
The body that awards the Nobel Prize, the Nobel Assembly, wrote in a statement that this year's laureates discovered a new class of small ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules that play a crucial role in gene regulation.
“Their pioneering discovery has revealed an entirely new principle of gene regulation, which turns out to be of fundamental importance for multicellular organisms, including humans,” the General Assembly justified its decision.
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