Two scientists, John B. Gurdon of the University of Cambridge in England and Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University in Japan have won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work on stem cell research, it was announced on Monday.
According to the New York Times, their work in cell biology occurred more than 40 years apart, beginning with Gurdon, who was the first to clone an animal in 1962. In 2006, Yamanaka discovered that there were proteins that could convert mature cells back to primitive cells.
Gurdon's discovery proved that DNA from specialized cells could be used to generate clones and assume new roles and functions, The Associated Press reported. The British scientist accomplished this by extracting a cell nucleus, containing frog DNA, and injecting it into a frog egg without a nucleus. The end result was living tadpoles.
How Gurdon was able to accomplish that was finally understood through Yamanaka's work in 2006. According to the New York Times, the Japanese scientist discovered that there are four specific gene control agents in eggs that allow reprogramming.
Yamanaka's work, which used mice, found that transcription factors allowed scientists to transform cells back to a primitive, or stem cell, form. According to the New York Times, stem cells produced this way are known as induced pluripotent cells, or iPS cells.
The AP reported that scientists hope their discoveries will lead to significant medical treatments that could create replacement tissues for diseases such as cystic fibrosis, diabetes and Parkinson's.
Both men's work have led scientists to develop and generate new treatment plans for patients with certain diseases as well as the possibility of human cloning. Gurdon and Yamanaka will receive their Nobel Prize in the amount of $1.2 million, the New York Times reported.
Gurdon told reporters, "It is particularly pleasing to see how purely basic research, originally aimed at testing the genetic identity of different cell types in the body, has turned out to have clear human health prospects."
According to the AP, Yamanaka said, "We still have a lot of work to do on our research, so I was really surprised. I have two feelings, gratitude and also responsibility. Even though we have received this prize, we have not really accomplished what we need to. I feel a deep sense of duty and responsibility."