The Nobel Prize in medicine was awarded Monday to Americans Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for their discovery of microRNA, a fundamental principle governing how gene activity is regulated.
The Nobel Assembly said that their discovery is "proving to be fundamentally important for how organisms develop and function."
Nobel announcements continue with the physics prize on Tuesday, chemistry on Wednesday and literature on Thursday. The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced Friday and the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences on Oct. 14.
The Nobel prizes award season begins Monday with the announcement by a panel at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm of the winner of this year's medicine award.
Last year, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to Hungarian-American Katalin Karikó and American Drew Weissman for discoveries that enabled the creation of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 that were critical in slowing the pandemic.
The medicine prize has been awarded 114 times to a total of 227 laureates — the title given to winners. Only 13 women have won been awarded the prize that carries a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million) from a bequest left by the prize's creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel.
The laureates are invited to receive their awards at ceremonies on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death.
Nobel announcements continue with the physics prize on Tuesday, chemistry on Wednesday and literature on Thursday. The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced Friday and the economics award on Oct. 14.