Thomas Perlmann

The Nobel Prize in medicine was awarded on Oct. 7 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."

The Nobel Prize in the field of physiology or medicine has been awarded to U.S.-based scientists David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian.

They were cited for their discovery of receptors for temperature and touch.