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.
Two scientists won the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine on Monday for their discovery of microRNA, tiny bits of genetic material that offer a way for scientists to control what's happening in our cells and that could lead to new ways of detecting and treating diseases including cancer.
Ambros and Ruvkun studied two mutant strains of worms commonly used as research models. The scientists set out to identify the mutated genes responsible for cell development in these worms and what their role was. The mechanism they ultimately identified - the regulation of genes by microRNA - has allowed organisms to evolve for hundreds of millions of years.
"If we take the example of cancer, we'll have a particular gene working overtime, it might be mutated and working in overdrive," said Fletcher. "We can take a microRNA that we know alters the activity of that gene and we can deliver that particular microRNA to cancer cells to stop that mutated gene from having its effect."
Fletcher said there are research studies ongoing to see how microRNA approaches might help treat skin cancer, but that there aren't yet any drug treatments approved by drug regulators. She expected that might happen in the next five to 10 years.
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