{"id":136248,"date":"2024-10-08T19:35:40","date_gmt":"2024-10-08T14:05:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/?post_type=current-affairs&#038;p=136248"},"modified":"2024-10-10T08:36:59","modified_gmt":"2024-10-10T03:06:59","slug":"nobel-prize-for-medicine-2024","status":"publish","type":"current-affairs","link":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/current-affairs\/nobel-prize-for-medicine-2024","title":{"rendered":"Nobel Prize for Medicine 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun have won the Nobel Prize for Medicine 2024 for \u201cthe discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"vc_table_green\"><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 99.8996%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"width: 100%; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; background-color: rgba(184, 165, 217, 0.53); text-align: left; vertical-align: middle;\">\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; color: #000000;\"><b>About Nobel Prize<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Categories:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Nobel Prize is a set of five international prizes awarded annually in <\/span><b>Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Origin :<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Nobel Prize was established by the will of<\/span><b> Alfred Nobel<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the inventor of dynamite.<\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First awarded in <\/span><b>1901 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">on the 5th anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 1968, <\/span><b>a sixth prize<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was introduced in <\/span><b>Economic Sciences (Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences) <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">but is<\/span><b> not officially called a Nobel Prize.<\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Venue:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The prizes are awarded by the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden.<\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">The Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo, Norway.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Eligibility<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: It can only be awarded to <\/span><b>individuals except for the peace prize\u00a0 that <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">can be conferred on individuals or institutions.<\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">A maximum of 3 individuals can share a prize.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 16pt; color: #000000;\"><b>Notable Awards in Medicine<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">James D. Watson is a Nobel Prize-winning scientist for his work on<\/span><b> DNA and genetics.<\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to<\/span><b> Katalin Karik\u00f3 and Drew Weissman <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for their work on <\/span><b>messenger Ribonucleic Acid (mRNA).<\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 16pt; color: #000000;\"><b>Nobel Prize and India<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Rabindranath Tagore<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was the first non-European and Indian to receive a Nobel Prize in <\/span><b>1913 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for Literature.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India&#8217;s first Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Sir Chandrasekhara <\/span><b>Venkata Raman in 1930 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for his work on the scattering of light and the discovery of the <\/span><b>Raman Effect.<\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"vc_button\">Also Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/nobel-prize-2024\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nobel Prize 2024 Winners List<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"vc_button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pw.live\/batches\/upsc?utm_source=seo+upsc+batch&#038;utm_medium=seo+upsc&#038;utm_campaign=seo&#038;utm_id=upsc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Enroll now for UPSC Online Course<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>What is MicroRNA (miRNA)?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MicroRNA (miRNA) is a class of small, non-coding RNA molecules that regulates gene expression in cells by binding to <\/span><b>messenger RNAs (mRNAs)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and blocking them from making proteins.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Non-coding RNAs<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (ncRNAs) are molecules that do not encode proteins.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"vc_table_green\"><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 100%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"width: 100%; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; background-color: rgba(184, 165, 217, 0.53); text-align: left; vertical-align: middle;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b> Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Both<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Ambros and Ruvkun are <\/span><b>American biologists.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Ambros<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> currently works at the Programme in Molecular Medicine at the <\/span><b>University of Massachusetts<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the U.S.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Ruvkun<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a professor of genetics at the<\/span><b> Harvard Medical School<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and researches <\/span><b>microRNA<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>RNA interference mechanisms<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at the Ruvkun Lab at Massachusetts General Hospital.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Their research revealed a<\/span><b> new class of tiny RNA molecules<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> critical for regulating gene activity, essential for multicellular organisms&#8217; development and function.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This breakthrough, first made in the <\/span><b>roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Examples include miRNAs, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), circular RNAs (circRNAs), Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), and transfer RNAs (tRNAs).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Composition<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: miRNAs are approximately <\/span><b>21 to 24 nucleotides long,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> much smaller than messenger RNAs (mRNAs), which carry instructions for protein synthesis.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Their small size allows them to bind to specific target mRNAs.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"vc_button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/store.pw.live\/govt-entrance-exams\/upsc-books\/upsc-modules?utm_source=SEO&#038;utm_medium=PW+Live&#038;utm_campaign=UPSC+Modules\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Check Out UPSC Modules From PW Store<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"><b>Discovery of MicroRNAs<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">miRNAs were <\/span><b>first discovered in Caenorhabditis elegans,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> a nematode worm, by Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun in 1993.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">miRNAs are found in cells and in the bloodstream.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"><b>Significance of MicroRNAs<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Role in biological processes <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:They are significant for different biological processes such as <\/span><b>cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and immune response.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Biological Regulation:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> They also regulate cholesterol metabolism and are involved in cardiomyopathies and stroke.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Role in pregnancy:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> MicroRNAs contribute to pregnancy development by regulating steps like trophoblast differentiation, embryo implantation, and maternal-foetal immune tolerance.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Disease Implications: Alteration in miRNA <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">expression can lead to changes in the gene expression profile, contributing to many human disorders.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Abnormal expression of miRNA has been linked to many <\/span><b>human cancers.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mutations in genes coding for microRNAs have been found in humans, causing conditions such as congenital hearing loss, eye and skeletal disorders<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Applications:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> A single micro-RNA can regulate the expression of many genes, and alternatively a single gene can also be controlled by multiple micro-RNAs.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This leads to fine tuning of different types of cells despite similar genetic information.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Understanding them is the first step towards further research.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>How do miRNAs Control Gene Expression?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">miRNAs control gene expression by <\/span><b>binding to mRNA in the cell cytoplasm.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instead of being quickly translated into protein, the marked mRNA is either destroyed and its components recycled or preserved for later translation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the level of a specific miRNA is underexpressed (abnormally low), the protein it regulates may be overexpressed (unusually high level in the cell).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"vc_button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pw.live\/batches\/upsc\/pw-only-ias?utm_source=seo+upsc+batch&#038;utm_medium=seo+upsc&#038;utm_campaign=seo&#038;utm_id=upsc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Enroll now for UPSC Online Classes<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>Production and Cycle of MicroRNA<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-136240 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/82-6705329a9d078.webp\" alt=\"Nobel Prize for Medicine\" width=\"406\" height=\"372\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/82-6705329a9d078.webp 663w, https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/82-6705329a9d078-300x275.webp 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 406px) 100vw, 406px\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cells make microRNA through a process similar to the early steps of protein synthesis.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When a microRNA gene is activated, the DNA strand opens up and is transcribed into RNA.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The initial gene transcript is called <\/span><b>primary miRNA (pri-miRNA).<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the cell nucleus, these hairpin-loop molecules are cut to form double-stranded precursor <\/span><b>miRNA (pre-miRNA).<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pre-miRNA is transported to the cytoplasm, where it is further cut to form<\/span><b> mature miRNA (about 22 nucleotides long).<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mature miRNA binds with the <\/span><b>RNA interference silencing complex (RISC).<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">miRNA then binds to target mRNA, blocking its translation or triggering its degradation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"vc_table_green\"><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 100.043%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 130.811%; text-align: center; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000;\" colspan=\"2\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>Must Read<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 50.5357%; text-align: center; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/editorial-analysis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UPSC Daily Editorials<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 80.2753%; text-align: center; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000;\"><a 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What is MicroRNA (miRNA)? MicroRNA (miRNA) is a class of small, non-coding RNA molecules that regulates gene expression in cells by binding to messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and blocking them from&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/current-affairs\/nobel-prize-for-medicine-2024\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Nobel Prize for Medicine 2024<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"paper-wise":[2089],"subject":[2092],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs\/136248"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/current-affairs"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136248"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs\/136248\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":136681,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs\/136248\/revisions\/136681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136248"},{"taxonomy":"paper-wise","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/paper-wise?post=136248"},{"taxonomy":"subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/subject?post=136248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}