The discovery of microRNA brought the Nobel to Victor Ambros and Gary Ravken

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

October 7, 2024

Americans Victor Ambros and Gary Ravken won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

KEY FACTS

The prize was awarded to them by the Royal Carolina Medical and Surgical Institute for the discovery of microRNA and its role in gene regulation announced the general secretary of the Nobel Committee, Thomas Perlman, quoted by BTA.
This year, the monetary value of the prize is 11 million kroner (about US$985,000). It was shared between the two laureates.
Victor Ambros was born in 1953 in Hanover, New Hampshire, USA. In 1979, he received his doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he also conducted postdoctoral research from 1979 to 1985. In 1985, he became a principal investigator at Harvard University. In the period 1992-2007, he was a professor at the School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, and he is currently a professor of natural sciences at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
Gary Ravken was born in 1952 in Berkeley, California, USA. He received his PhD from Harvard University in 1982. From 1982 to 1985, he worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 1985, he became a principal investigator at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, where he is currently a professor of genetics.
Last year, Catalin Carrico and Drew Wiseman won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries related to modifications of nucleotide bases that allowed the development of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.

TANGENT

The first Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded in 1901 to Elim Adolf von Behring of Germany “for his work on serum therapy, especially for its application to diphtheria, thereby opening a new path for medical science and giving physicians a victorious remedy against sickness and death”.

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Among the more famous scientists who received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine are: Ivan P. Pavlov (Russia) /1904/, Robert Koch (Germany) /1905/, Alexander Fleming (Great Britain) /1945/, George Biddle (USA) , Edward Tatum (USA), Joshua Lederberg (USA) /1958/ and others.

The Future Forbes Realty Global Properties

Only 1% Of Cyprus Farms Use Precision Farming Technologies

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

July 24, 2026

Cyprus remains one of the European Union’s least digitised agricultural economies, with just 1% of farms using precision farming technologies in 2023, according to Eurostat.

The findings come as the EU continues to encourage the adoption of digital tools aimed at improving agricultural productivity, efficiency and sustainability.

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Internet Access Expands, But Digital Uptake Lags

Internet access has improved across the bloc, although adoption remains uneven. Eurostat found that 43% of EU farms had internet access in 2023, with northern and central European countries leading the way.

Denmark, Germany, Slovakia, Latvia, the Czech Republic and Austria all reported internet access rates above 90%.

Greater connectivity, however, has not translated into widespread digital adoption. Farm management information systems, which help farmers manage day-to-day operations, were used by only about 11% of EU farms. France was a notable exception, with around 60% of farms using the technology.

Precision Farming Concentrated In Larger Operations

Robotics adoption also remained relatively limited, with only about 7% of EU farms using robotic technologies. Overall, around 18% of farms with utilised agricultural area employed at least one precision farming technology or practice in 2023.

These included robotics for plant protection, band spraying, variable-rate application, precision crop monitoring and soil analysis. Despite representing fewer than one in five farms, these holdings accounted for around 44% of the EU’s utilised agricultural area.

The figures suggest that precision farming remains concentrated among larger agricultural businesses, where investment in digital technologies is typically easier to support.

Cyprus Lags Behind EU Leaders

Luxembourg, Finland and Estonia recorded the highest shares of utilised agricultural area managed by farms using precision farming technologies, each exceeding 75%.

At the other end of the ranking, Cyprus recorded just 1%, while Greece and Romania reported between 10% and 15%. The results indicate that Cyprus remains at an early stage of digital adoption in agriculture, even as precision farming becomes more widespread across parts of the European Union.

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