LOS ANGELES (Reuters) Two scientists who upended fundamental beliefs about biology by demonstrating that every cell in the body has the potential to grow into every other type of cell have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Sir John Gurdon and Dr Shinya Yamanaka were honoured yesterday for “the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed” to return to a very early state of development, the Nobel committee said in its citation.
Their research is still years away from yielding a clear breakthrough in medical treatment. But the work has completely upended the study of intractable conditions including heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s by allowing scientists to grow disease-specific _ and even patient-specific _ cells for experimentation in the laboratory, experts said.
