Gene Therapy - The Future of Medicine The 2006 Nobel Prizes in both Chemistry and Medicine went to genetic research: Andrew Fire and Craig Mello won the Nobel in Medicine for their study of RNA interference (RNAi), and Roger Kornberg, son of Nobel laureate Arthur Kornberg, took home the Prize in Chemistry for his insight into the molecular basis of eukaryotic gene transcription. Genetic information in DNA, stored in the cell nucleus, is transcribed by messenger RNA, which then carries the genetic information to ribosomes in the cell cytoplasm for protein synthesis. RNAi essentially silences unwanted genes on double-stranded RNA, such as viral RNA, preventing their replication. These discoveries and other genetic research will likely have far-reaching applications in future gene therapies.