The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2024 has been awarded to US scientists Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for their work on microRNA.

Their discoveries help explain how complex life emerged on Earth and how the human body is made of a wide variety of different tissues.

MicroRNAs influence how genes – the instructions for life – are controlled inside organisms, including us.

The winners share a prize fund worth 11m Swedish kronor (£810,000).

Every cell in the human body contains the same raw genetic information, locked in our DNA.

But despite starting with the identical genetic information, the cells of the human body are wildly different in form and function.

The electrical impulses of nerve cells are distinct from the rhythmic beating of heart cells. The metabolic powerhouse that is a liver cell is distinct to a kidney cell which filters urea out of the blood. The light-sensing abilities of cells in the retina are different in skillset to white blood cells that produce antibodies to fight infection.

So much variety can arise from the same starting material because of gene expression.

The US scientists were the first to discover microRNAs and how they exerted control on how genes are expressed differently in different tissues.

The medicine and physiology prize winners are selected by the Nobel Assembly of Sweden’s Karolinska Institute.

They said: “Their ground-breaking discovery revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation that turned out to be essential for multicellular organisms, including humans.

“It is now known that the human genome codes for over one thousand microRNAs.”

Without the ability to control gene expression every cell in an organism would be identical, so microRNAs helped enable the evolution of complex life-forms.

Abnormal regulation by microRNAs can contribute to cancer and to some conditions including congenital hearing loss and bone disorders.

A severe example is DICER1 syndrome, which leads to cancer in a variety of tissues and is caused by mutations that affect microRNAs.

(BBC News)

The Royal New Zealand Navy has lost its first ship to the sea since World War Two, after one of its vessels ran aground off the coast of Samoa.

HMNZS Manawanui, a specialist diving and ocean imaging ship, came into trouble about one nautical mile from the island of Upolu on Saturday night local time, while conducting a survey of a reef.

It later caught fire before capsizing.
All 75 people on board were evacuated onto lifeboats and rescued early on Sunday, New Zealand’s Defence Force said in a statement.

Officials said the cause of the grounding was unknown and will be investigated.

The incident occurred during a bout of rough and windy weather.

Military officials said rescuers “battled” currents and winds that pushed life rafts and sea boats towards the reefs, and swells made rescue efforts “challenging”.

Officials said the area had not been surveyed since 1987.

The vessel’s crew and passengers – including seven scientists and four foreign military personnel – are being accommodated in Samoa before being flown back to New Zealand.

As of 06:40 local time on Sunday (18:40 BST on Saturday), the ship was seen listing heavily with smoke billowing from it.

By 09:00 (21:00 BST on Saturday), it was below the surface.

Defence minister Judith Collins described the incident as “a really sad day for the Navy” during a news conference.

She added: “But everyone came through, and that, I have to say, is down to the professionalism [of the crew], the training and their own courage.”

Dave Poole, who witnessed the ship ablaze, told the Reuters news agency: “As we came into the bay we saw the ship and no smoke. Within 15 minutes fire and smoke were visible. It sank shortly after.”

HMNZS Manawanui is the first of New Zealand’s naval vessels to be unintentionally sunk since the nation participated in naval battles during World War Two.

Several other ships have been intentionally sunk in the intervening period for various reasons, including to serve as a diving wreck or an artificial reef.

Military officials said their efforts are now turning towards attempting to salvage the vessel and minimising the environmental impacts of the sinking.

(BBC News)

Israel has carried out more air strikes in Gaza and the Lebanese capital of Beirut

In Gaza, the IDF says it hit targets throughout the strip, including a hospital it says was used by Hamas fighters

In Beirut, there were huge explosions in the southern suburbs – Israel says it hit Hezbollah weapons storage facilities

Ten people were injured in Israel by rockets fired from Lebanon on Sunday, while the IDF says at least four “projectiles” were fired from Gaza on Monday

People across Israel and the world are remembering last year’s 7 October attacks, in which Hamas killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostage

Since then, nearly 42,000 people have been killed during Israel’s campaign in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry