Japanese scientist and stem cell story

Stem cell researcher, Professor Shinya Yamanaka, who received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in December 7, showed his determination to use artificial multipurpose stem cells (iPS) to treat degenerative diseases. but there is no effective treatment so far.

>>>Chinese scientist sues the Nobel Council

In the annual lecture at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, before the Nobel ceremony on December 10, the Japanese scientist shared an interesting story that led to an important scientific discovery: production. Success iPS thanks to a series of unexpected discoveries.

Before talking about the interesting findings from the experiments that the teachers gave him, Professor Yamanaka shared: 'I have two great teachers in the early days of science'. The first teacher was the kind of person like Professor Katsuyuki Miura of Osaka City University and Tom Innerarity, at that time a senior investigator at Gladstone Institute, USA. Yamanaka said these two people always encouraged and encouraged young scientists even when the results of the experiment were conflicting with their hypothesis. He said he tried to be a good teacher like them but that was "very difficult".

Another great teacher, "nature" - who " gave Yamanaka unexpected results " and "people" brought him completely new plans.

Professor Shinya Yamanaka

The Japanese scientist said for the first time he could not imagine how long it would take before identifying the key factors needed to reprogram somatic cells into iPS cells. He also wondered if it might take "10, 20, 30 years or even longer" to reach this discovery, but in the end, his team lost only 6 years before the major breakthrough was achieved in 2006 when Yamanaka discovered a different option than having to destroy human embryos, thereby dispelling moral and moral obstacles in stem cell technology. .

Professor Yamanaka, 50, has allowed young researchers to work in his lab, especially Kazutoshi Takahashi, a Kyoto university lecturer, and two other researchers to speed up new discoveries. mine. He said: 'Without the dedication of those three people, we could never produce iPS stem cells, at least in our own lab . I feel helpless. proud of the young sciences ".

Yamanaka also said the research was conducted at the iPS Stem Cell Research and Application Center (CiRA) of Kyoto University, a research institute he was chaired, supposedly to help test the conditions. and screening drugs for diseases of motor neurons such as muscular atrophy, a weakening disease of the muscular system that does not yet have a specific cure.

A day earlier, scientist John Gurdon, 79, who received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for Yamanaka this year and an honorary professor at Cambridge University, also had an annual lecture. Yamanaka said he felt honored to be chosen as the prize recipient with Professor Gurdon, who discovered the field of nuclear reprogramming half a century ago, the time when Yamanaka was born.

After the lecture, Professor Yamanaka said he was somewhat relieved to have completed one of the important events during his visit to Stockholm and marked '60% points' in his English lecture. . Yamanaka's wife, Chika, 50, said she was moved to listen to her husband's lecture because it reminded her of many memories.