Researched
Induced pluripotent stem cells
Four genes turn ordinary adult cells back into stem cells that can become any tissue.
Open in the interactive tree →Shinya Yamanaka and Kazutoshi Takahashi reprogrammed mouse skin cells with four factors in 2006 and human cells in 2007; Yamanaka shared the 2012 Nobel Prize with John Gurdon. Patient-derived stem cells avoid the ethical problems of embryos and allow disease models, drug tests and cell therapies. They are also the starting point for lab-grown tissues.
Prerequisites
- Cell culture and HeLa cells1951Reprogramming starts from ordinary skin cells grown in culture
- Genetic engineering1973
- Cloning (Dolly the sheep)1996