MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Experiments conducted by a pair of stem-cell scientists garnered this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for work on a cellular reprogramming technique that advanced the field of biology.
Research conducted by British researcher John Gurdon and Japanese researcher Shinya Yamanaka underlies progress in areas including cloning and patient-specific therapies, using mature cells taken from an individual which are then transformed into a state similar to embryonic stem cells.
Gurdon’s and Yamanaka’s work "has changed the accepted dogma" about mature stem cells, early stem-cell pioneer Martin Evans told the Wall Street Journal.
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