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.
The work of British researcher John Gurdon, 79, and Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka, 50 — 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.
Gurdon and Yamanaka showed how to make the equivalent of embryonic stem cells without the ethical questions those very 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.
Harvard stem cell researcher Dr. George Daley said, “I don’t think anybody is surprised” by the award announcement. “The fact that these two share it together is inspired.”
