Berkeley native is awarded Nobel Prize in medicine

A Bay Area-born Harvard professor was just awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine.

Gary Ruvkun and Victor Ambros were both awarded the honor for their discovery of MicroRNAs in the early 90s.

The tiny molecules regulate the activities of genes in humans, plants and other animals.

Ruvkun was born in Berkeley and is a Cal grad.

Together, the scientists' discovered that MicroRNAs are pivotal regulators of normal development and act as key players in an array of human diseases such as heart disease and cancer.

Their discoveries have since sparked a revolution in RNA medicine.