Nobel prize for medicine: Stem cells

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Stem cells can develop into many different kinds of cells as living things grow & promise new ways to cure disease.

Photo shows how stem cells differentiate to form the cells of different organs in the body such as the heart and brain (Source: Wikipedia)

The science book The Epigenetics Revolution (2011) explains the Nobel Prize-winning stem cells discoveries in greater detail.

Click button to listen to Nobel Prize for Stem Cell Research download

By Pia Ohlin (AFP)

STOCKHOLM Shinya Yamanaka of Japan and John Gurdon of Britain won the Nobel Prize for work in cell programming, a frontier that has nourished dreams of replacement tissue for people crippled by disease.

Their findings have revolutionised our understanding of how cells and organisms develop .... By reprogramming human cells, scientists have created new opportunities to study diseases and develop methods for diagnosis and therapy" [the Nobel jury declared on Monday]...

Stem cells are precursor cells which differentiate into the various organs of the body.

They have stirred huge excitement, with hopes that they can be coaxed into growing into replacement tissue for victims of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other diseases...

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Nobel prize for medicine: Stem cells