Nobel Prize 2012 went to British researcher John Gurdon and Japan researcher Shinya Yamanaka for their contributions in the field of physiology. They discovered that mature cells of the body can be reprogrammed into stem cells, which will pave way to new treatments in near future. In fact, this new discovery could even treat diseases such as diabetes and Parkinson's disease. The Nobel Award was announced on Monday and the duo were said to be overwhelmed with this award.

While Gurdon told the world that DNA from specialized cells of frogs could be used to new tadpoles in 1962, Shinya Yamanaka was born in the same year. In fact, in 1997 a few scientists found out that what Gurdon done on frogs could even work on mammals. The committee, while declaring the award, said that the discoveries of Gurdon and Yamanaka have shown that specialized cells can turn back the developmental clock under certain circumstances.
(AW Phani)