The 2024 Nobel Prizes have recognised groundbreaking advances in our understanding of genetics, protein structure, and artificial intelligence, honoring discoveries with profound implications for science and medicine.
The Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine was awarded to Professors Victor Ambros from the University of Massachusetts Medical School and Professor Gary Ruvkun from Harvard Medical School for their pioneering work on microRNA, a small RNA molecule critical for gene regulation. Professor Ambros described microRNA as a “communication network amongst genes that enables the cells in our bodies to generate all kinds of different complex structures and functions”. Their work began with the study of C. elegans, a roundworm model organism. They discovered that microRNA could inhibit protein synthesis by binding to specific mRNA sequences. Initially considered relevant only to C. elegans, Professor Ruvkun's subsequent discovery of another human microRNA, let-7, revolutionized understanding of gene regulation, with impacts on cancer, developmental disorders, and more.
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Professor David Baker of the University of Washington for computational protein design, and jointly to Demis Hassabis and John Jumper from Google DeepMind for breakthroughs in protein structure prediction. Professor Baker’s lab engineered novel proteins using the 20 standard amino acids, producing proteins with applications in drug development and nanotechnology. Hassabis and Jumper’s AlphaFold, an AI model, has predicted the structures of over 200 million proteins, greatly expanding our knowledge of protein biology.
In Physics, Professors John Hopfield from Princeton University and Geoffrey Hinton from the University of Toronto received the prize for foundational work on artificial neural networks, paving the way for machine learning applications. Their AI research has led to innovations in fields such as reproductive health and disease prediction, highlighting the transformative power of machine learning.
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Nobel Prizes awarded for microRNA discovery and AI breakthroughs
