STOCKHOLM - The 2024 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded Monday to two American scientists, Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun, for their discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation.

MicroRNAs are a new class of tiny RNA molecules that are essential in gene regulation. It is now known that the human genome codes for over 1,000 microRNAs.

The Nobel Assembly said that the pair's surprising discovery revealed an entirely new dimension to gene regulation. "MicroRNAs are proving to be fundamentally important for how organisms develop and function," the assembly added.

The announcement marked the start of this year's Nobel Prize award season. The Nobel announcements will proceed with the physics prize on Tuesday, followed by chemistry on Wednesday, and literature on Thursday. The Nobel Peace Prize will be revealed on Friday, and the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences will be announced on Oct 14.