Yesterday at 12:00 AM Their work holds hope for treating diseases such as Parkinson's by growing tissue for transplant.

The Associated Press

NEW YORK - Two scientists from different generations won the Nobel Prize in medicine Monday for the groundbreaking discovery that cells in the body can be reprogrammed into completely different kinds, work that reflects the mechanism behind cloning and offers an alternative to using embryonic stem cells.

click image to enlarge

British scientist John Gurdon, left, and Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka, right, were named winners of the 2012 Nobel Prize in medicine for their work in cell biology.

Left: AP/Matt Dunham; right: Kyodo News

The work of British researcher John Gurdon and Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka -- who was born the year Gurdon made his discovery -- holds hope for treating diseases like Parkinson's and diabetes by growing customized tissue for transplant.

And it has spurred a new generation of laboratory studies into other illnesses, including schizophrenia, which may lead to new treatments.

Basically, Gurdon, 79, and Yamanaka, 50, showed how to make the equivalent of embryonic stem cells without the ethical questions those versatile cells pose, a promise scientists are now scrambling to fulfill.

Once created, these "blank slate" cells can be nudged toward developing into other cell types. Skin cells can ultimately be transformed into brain cells, for example.

See original here:
Two scientists share Nobel for medicine for work on alternate stem cells

Comments are closed.