Micro discovery nets Lasker Prize

Three researchers who discovered the existence of microRNAs have been awarded the Lasker Prize for basic medical research, one of the richest prizes in the biological sciences.

Victor Ambros of the University of Massachusetts Medical School and Gary Ruvkun of the Harvard Medical School first tracked down microRNAs in C. elegans, while David Baulcombe of the University of Cambridge found them in plants. All three share the US$300,000 prize.

MicroRNAs are small RNAs that regulate gene expression by binding to the 3-prime untranslated regions (3'-UTR) of specific messenger RNAs and silencing them.

Around 500 human miRNA sequences are known, although their specific mRNA targets and their functional roles in cells are not yet understood. They are being intensely studied to understand their role in controlling protein-coding genes, in disease and as potential diagnostics.

Akira Endo of Biopharm Research Laboratories in Japan won the Lasker-DeBakey clinical medical research award – worth $300,000 – for his discovery of statins, the LDL-cholesterol-lowering drugs that have revolutionised the treatment of heart disease.

Stanley Falkow of Stanford University won the $300,000 special achievement award in medical science for his career as a microbe hunter, discovering the molecular nature of antibiotic resistance and helping to uncover the causative agents of numerous, common diseases.