The future of stem cell research
Wednesday, December 8, 2010 - 15:00
in Biology & Nature
Perhaps no single scientist has had a greater impact on stem cell research than Dr. Shinya Yamanaka. While most of his colleagues were looking for ways to grow human embryonic stem cells into replacement tissues for treating patients, the Japanese researcher took the opposite approach and figured out how to rewind mature body cells to a flexible state where they could again become many types of cells in the body. His 2006 discovery of so-called iPS cells (induced pluripotent stem cells) paves the way for pursuing regenerative medicine therapies without the need to destroy embryos.