Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn

ARTICLE · 27 AUGUST 2014

Yamanaka iPSC Patent Challenged

Dr. Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University shared the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Dr. John B. Gurdon.

United StatesIntellectual Property

Dr. Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University shared the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Dr. John B. Gurdon for their respective discoveries that mature, specialized cells can be reprogrammed to become immature cells capable of developing into all tissues of the body. In the 2012 Nobel announcement, the Nobel Assembly at Karolinka Institutet stated that the findings of Drs. Yamanaka and Gurdon "have revolutionized our understanding of how cells and organisms develop."

Dr. Gurdon was recognized for his 1962 discovery that the specialization of cells is reversible when he replaced the immature cell nucleus in an egg cell of a frog with the nucleus from a mature intestinal cell. The modified egg developed into a normal tadpole. Dr. Yamanaka was recognized for his later discovery that intact mature cells in mice could be reprogrammed to become immature stem cells, now known as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).

We operate a free-to-view policy, asking only that you register in order to read all of our content. Please login or register to view the rest of this article.

See more popular content from