Massachusetts
Two Massachusetts scientists receive Nobel Prize in Medicine for discovery of microRNA
Two Massachusetts scientists have been recognized with the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their role in the discovery of microRNA — key to the understanding of gene regulation and potential treatments of heart disease, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and more.
Researchers Victor Ambros, a University of Massachusetts Medical School professor of natural science, and Gary Ruvkun, a Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School investigator and professor of genetics, received the Nobel Prize on Monday.
“Gene regulation by microRNA, first revealed by Ambros and Ruvkun, has been at work for hundreds of millions of years,” the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine stated in a release. “This mechanism has enabled the evolution of increasingly complex organisms.”
The committee stated the scientists’ work “revealed an entirely new dimension to gene regulation” that are “proving to be fundamentally important for how organisms develop and function.”
In a press conference at MGH on Monday, Ruvkun called the study of recombinant DNA starting in the 70s a “revolution” and said as a young student and researcher he “just wanted to be part of that.”
In the late 1980s, Ambros and Ruvkun worked as postdoctoral fellows in the laboratory of Robert Horvitz, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2002. There they studied the 1 mm long roundworm, C. elegans, narrowing in on a mutation and gene function in the animals.
Ambros and Ruvkun continued the research after the fellowship at respectively at their Harvard University lab and Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School lab. The pair compared findings, discovering the existence of microRNA in the worms, and published in 1993 in two articles in the journal Cell.
The discovery was met with “deafening silence from the scientific community,” the Nobel committee wrote, until 2000 when Ruvkun published new findings on microRNA in another gene, demonstrating their presence across the animal kingdom.
In the past two decades, “research into the potential of microRNAs for the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of disease has expanded from the two original papers published by Ruvkun and Ambros in 1993 to 176,000 papers today,” MGH said in a statement.
The “unexpectedly short” microRNA, Ambros said, help regulate how genes are controlled in cells. The microRNAs “block gene expression by binding to regulatory segments in their target messenger RNAs,” MGH said.
Current research has shown human and most other plant and animal genomes contain “more than 1,000 microRNAs, which control many protein-coding messenger RNAs and may be involved in a broad range of normal- and disease-related activities,” the hospital said.
Researchers are currently conducting clinical trials involving microRNA for medical conditions including heart disease, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.
Ambros said he was “surprised and delighted” to hear about the Nobel Prize at a press conference in the UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester on Monday and emphasized that studies of laboratory organisms of this kind are “critical and key and fundamental to advancing understanding of biology.”
“I think the unexpectedness of biology is probably the most important principle, perhaps, for people to appreciate,” said Ambros. … “At any given moment, it feels like we know most of what we need to know — that is actually an illusion that we have to consciously disabuse ourselves of and leave ourselves open for the surprises.”
The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to two researchers, Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, who helped develop mRNA vaccines to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nobel prize announcements will continue with the physics prize on Tuesday, chemistry on Wednesday, literature on Thursday, Peace Prize on Friday and the Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences on Oct. 14.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts families ‘at risk’ under Gov. Healey’s proposed mental health cuts, critics say
Directors overseeing programs that provide intensive mental health help to Massachusetts’ most vulnerable children and adolescents say Gov. Maura Healey’s proposal to consolidate the services has caught them “off guard.”
The Healey administration is looking to save $15.3 million in the next fiscal year’s budget by slashing funding for a 30-bed dual intensive residential treatment program for adolescents in Westboro and a 12-bed program for children ages 6-12 in Belchertown.
Officials with the state Department of Mental Health say the programs are operating at half capacity and consolidating them would ensure “taxpayer dollars are used effectively,” but the providers argue that there’s much more to the story.
If the proposal gets legislative approval in Healey’s roughly $62 billion budget request, the Bay State would lose its only intensive residential treatment program for children between the ages of 6 and 12 who are suffering from suicidal and/or homicidal ideations or other complex needs.
Tina Champagne, CEO of Cutchins Programs for Children and Families, runs the program, called “Three Rivers,” based in Western Massachusetts that serves children from all over the state. She called the governor’s request “mind boggling.”
“These services are needed or are going to be needed more than ever,” Champagne told the Herald. “The mental health crisis for children and families started to really increase after COVID. The pandemic ripple effects are still in effect in addition to all the uncertainty in the world.”
NFI Massachusetts provides intensive services to adolescents ages 13-18 who suffer from “serious emotional disturbance, trauma histories or mental health diagnoses.”
The program is like Three Rivers in that it helps those who need more care than what’s provided in a hospital or a more community-based setting, like at a school or doctor’s office, Executive Director Lydia Todd told the Herald.
“We maintain that the reasons for the underutilization do not equate to no need,” Todd said, “but there are instead bureaucratic obstacles, lack of marketing and lack of knowledge that needs to happen to make sure we are fully utilized.”
The proposed funding cuts are even more baffling, Champagne and Todd said, after they highlighted how the state had “invested millions” to relocate their programs within the past few years.
NFI Massachusetts and Three Rivers are not state-owned. The DMH has said that it “incurs the same costs regardless of whether a program is fully or partially utilized” as the programs are “contracted through an accommodation rate model.”
The proposed funding cuts “also reflect our commitment to helping people transition to receiving mental health care services in their homes and communities, which is a more effective way to provide treatment,” the agency says.
“However,” it has added, “adolescent patients will still be able to receive treatment at other locations in the state and younger children will be able to receive acute care treatment at hospitals when necessary.”
An agency spokesperson told the Herald Saturday that the governor’s proposed DMH budget requests an increase of $1.2 billion, or 7% more than current spending. The spokesperson added that the agency has “expanded access to care through our 31 Community Behavioral Health Centers.
“The Department of Mental Health is committed to supporting mental health needs across our state,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
After facing sharp backlash in the weeks following her budget proposal announcement in January, Healey decided to halt plans to close a Cape Cod psychiatric hospital and a Canton children’s rehab hospital. Working groups of stakeholders have convened to look into the future of both facilities.
An online petition urging the state to restore the “major cuts” to DMH’s youth and family services said losing the intensive residential treatment programs would “put entire families at risk.”
“This loss would force children to ‘board’ at home while waiting for the proper level of care,” the petition states, “affect schools, increase court involvement, and result in more lives lost to suicide. It will drive Emergency Room boarding back up.”
Spring has sprung in Massachusetts.
People looking to shed the winter blues can once again immerse themselves in floral displays across the state.
From fruitful farms to bountiful gardens, here are some of the best places to see flowers bloom — and possibly take some home — during spring in Massachusetts.
Eastern Massachusetts
The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University
125 Arborway, Boston
The Arnold Arboretum’s 281 acres of trees, flowers and other plants make it an ideal place for walks, picnics and other activities this spring. Visitors can also celebrate Japanese culture during a cherry blossom celebration from 2 to 4:15 p.m. Saturday, April 19
Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s Garden at Elm Bank
900 Washington St., Wellesley
Not only can visitors see more than 75,000 blooming tulips at this garden, they can also take them home. Tulip Mania is set to return to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s Garden at Elm Bank in Wellesley in April. There are also several other gardens to stroll through.
Cider Hill Farm
45 Fern Ave., Amesbury
Named the fourth most beautiful farm in the world by The Travel in 2022, Cider Hill Farm is a 145-acre farm where visitors can cut their own flowers. The farm’s annual Tulip Feast, featuring 100,000 flowers, is scheduled for May 3 and 4 and May 10 and 11. Tickets should go on sale by late April.
Central Massachusetts
New England Botanic Garden
11 French Drive, Boylston
Visitors can see several blooming spring flowers at the New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, from daffodils and tulips to magnolias and irises. The garden, which was voted the best Botanic Garden in the U.S. by TravelAwaits in 2023, has tons of events in March and April as well.
Ferjulian’s Farm
7 Lewis St., Hudson
Ferjulian’s Farm allows visitors to get lost in its two-acre hillside field this spring by offering subscriptions to the Flower Cutting Garden. The subscription costs $175 and lets people pick flowers from more than 200 varieties once a week from July 7 to Oct. 5. Subscriptions go on sale Sunday, April 13, on Ferjulian’s Farm’s website.
Western Massachusetts
Naumkeag
5 Prospect Hill Road, Stockbridge
Forty-eight acres of elegant gardens surrounding a rare cottage await visitors at this public garden in the Berkshires. Naumkeag will host its annual Daffodil & Tulip Festival, open Thursdays to Sundays from April 18 to May 11. Tickets for the festival can be purchased online.
The Botanic Garden at Smith College
16 College Lane, Northampton
The Botanic Garden of Smith College is free and open to the public year-round. Visitors can explore the garden’s 127-acre arboretum, 6 acres of managed outdoor gardens, and/or its 12,000-square-foot conservatory on a spring day.
Botanic Garden at Mt. Holyoke
15 Lower Lake Road, South Hadley
The Mount Holyoke College Botanic Garden has more than 2,000 different types of plants throughout its Talcott Greenhouse and surrounding gardens. The gardens and greenhouse are open year-round and are free for the public.
Did we miss your favorite flower destination? Email dcifarelli@masslive.com with suggestions.
Springfield – The World Affairs Council of Western Massachusetts and the Polish Center of Discovery and Learning will present a lecture featuring Dr. Wiktor Askanas, Professor Emeritus of the University of New Brunswick on Poland in the Context of Current Political and Economic Turbulence. The program will take place on Tuesday, April 8 from 4 to 6 pm at 1350 Main Street, 9th Floor Gallery, in downtown Springfield. The event is free and open to the public but pre-registration is required. Light refreshments will be served.
Dr. Wiktor Askanas is a distinguished academic and corporate leader with expertise in strategic management, governance, and international business. With a career spanning Canada, Poland, and beyond, he has held leadership positions in academia, government, and corporate boards. Recognized for his contributions to management education and corporate governance, Dr. Askanas continues to shape the field through teaching, research, and advisory roles.
For tickets, visit Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/poland-in-the-context-of-current-political-and-economic-turbulence-tickets-1303386266409?aff=oddtdtcreator.
The World Affairs Council will present Dr. Kavita Khory, Ruth Lawson Professor of Politics and Carol Hoffmann Collins Director of the McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives at Mount Holyoke College, at an Instant Issues brown bag discussion on Wednesday, April 29 at noon in the 9th Floor Gallery at 1350 Main Street in downtown Springfield. Dr. Khory will speak about the rise of emerging powers in the international system and the implications for US foreign policy.
Visit the World Affairs Council Western Massachusetts Facebook page.
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