Shinya Yamanaka
For a long time, we thought that mature cells could not be reverted to their immature, embryonic state. In 2006, Dr. Shinya Yamanaka's work helped discover genes that, when altered, could revert cells back to a pluripotent state. In short, he found out how to turn say a skin cell into a stem cell. There are more than 20 clinical trials going on that are testing the applications of induced pluripotent stem cells. Some of these trials are looking at things like regenerative medicine.
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-Joseph
