Japanese, British Reserchers Win Nobel Prize In Medicine, Physiology

In this April, 2008 photo, Kyoto University Professor Shinya Yamanaka, left, and British researcher John Gurdon exchange words as they attend a symposium on induced pluripotent stem cell in Tokyo. Gurdon and Yamanaka of Japan won this year’s Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine on Monday, Oct. 8, 2012 for discovering that mature, specialized cells of the body can be reprogrammed into stem cells – a discovery that scientists hope to turn into new treatments.

Kyoto University Professor Shinya Yamanaka speaks during a news conference at the university in Kyoto, Japan, after winning Nobel Prize Monday night, Oct. 8, 2012. Yamanaka and British researcher John Gurdon won this year’s Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine. <AP Photo/Kyodo News>

British scientist Sir John Gurdon speaks during a news conference in London, Monday, Oct. 8, 2012. Gurdon and a Japanese scientist, Shinya Yamanaka, won the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine on Monday for discovering that ordinary cells of the body can be reprogrammed into stem cells, which then can turn into any kind of tissue – a discovery that may lead to new treatments. <AP Photo/Matt Dunham>

Thomas Perlmann of Karolinska Institute presents Sir John B. Gurdon of Britain and Shinya Yamanaka of Japan as winners of the 2012 Nobel Prize in medicine or physiology, in Stockholm, Monday Oct. 8, 2012. The prize committee at Stockholms Karonlinska institute said the discovery has revolutionized our understanding of how cells and organisms develop. <AP Photo/Scanpix, Bertil Enevag Ericson>

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