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.
Feeling down on your luck as you returned to work on a beautiful summery day after a miserable Memorial Day Weekend?
It could be time to chance your luck to win big.
Wednesday’s drawing will be the third-largest ever in Megabucks history, at an estimated $18.85 million, the game’s largest jackpot since 1986.
But a word of caution: A Megabucks ticket has not hit a jackpot in over a year. The last winning came on April 21, 2025, with a $1.97 million jackpot on a ticket sold in Hyde Park.
“The game was redesigned in 2023 to bring more value to players,” the Massachusetts State Lottery said Tuesday, “including better odds of winning, higher average jackpots, bigger payouts for all non-jackpot prizes, as well as the addition of a third weekly drawing.”
“In conjunction with these changes, the game returned to its original name, Megabucks,” the lottery added. “The game first launched in 1982.”
The cash option for Wednesday’s drawing is a nifty $12.62 million.
Before the game returned to its original name, a ticket sold in Ware on Sept. 10, 2022, hit on a $16.35 million jackpot, the largest winnings on a single ticket in Megabucks history.
Those looking to score big can purchase Megabucks tickets for $2 each at over 7,500 authorized Massachusetts State Lottery retailers – convenience stores, gas stations, and supermarkets across the Bay State.
Tickets can be bought until 9 p.m. Drawings are held every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
MELROSE, MA — Two people have been transported to the hospital in the aftermath of a house fire early Tuesday morning, according to the Melrose Fire Department.
Crews responded to the scene on 65 Heywood Ave. at approximately 2:25 a.m. to find heavy smoke and flames emanating from the single-floor, single family residence. According to Fire Chief John White, the two residents were awoken by alarms in their home and have been hospitalized for smoke inhalation treatment. No other injuries have been reported.
The nine firefighters who responded to the two-alarm blaze had the flames knocked down by 4:40 a.m. The Saugus, Wakefield, Stoneham, and Malden Fire Departments provided mutual aid assistance on scene. The cause of the fire is now being investigated by Melrose Fire Prevention as well as the state fire marshal’s office.
Massachusetts paused Monday to mark Memorial Day.
Somber remembrances and celebrations of servicemembers took place across the Bay State.
“Our great nation is made possible by their sacrifice,” said Gov. Maura Healey.
From the Tewksbury Memorial Day Parade to the Puerto Rican Veterans’ Memorial in Boston, Massachusetts paid tribute to those that made the ultimate sacrifice.
“I hear the stories of our residents who have served. Their names are on our heroes’ squares, they’re also etched in our hearts,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.
A solemn tribute was made Friday to Massachusetts servicemembers who made the ultimate sacrifice.
“All that we cherish, all that we hold dear,” said Healey. “Our freedoms, our rights, our property, our dreams, they gave their lives for it.”
Congressman Seth Moulton, a Marine Corps veteran, shared who he thinks about when Memorial Day comes around.
“There’s not just one, unfortunately. There’s a number that I served with that didn’t come home, and there are others who have died from their wounds since coming back,” he said.
While reflection remains the focus, Memorial Day also serves as a reminder of the life that we get to enjoy as Americans — taking pleasure in the little things and thanking those that make it possible in the first place.
“My dad was in the military for 30 years, so it’s a great way to celebrate those that have served,” said Tewksbury resident Laura Clymer.
“Everything, that’s our freedom,” said Tewksbury resident Ellen Naughton.
“It’s why we’re here, and we can enjoy the things we have,” said Tewksbury resident Mike Chapman.
Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll also spoke at the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Agawam on Monday. The Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne held a ceremony, as well.
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