The Nobel Prize in medicine for the year 2012 has been awarded to John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka for the discovery that

The 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka for their groundbreaking discovery that mature, specialized cells can be reprogrammed to become immature, pluripotent stem cells [1]. John Gurdon first demonstrated this in 1962 by replacing a frog egg's nucleus with one from a mature intestinal cell, proving that cell specialization is reversible. In 2006, Shinya Yamanaka advanced this by identifying a specific set of four genes that could reprogram intact mature mouse cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). These iPSCs are immature cells capable of developing into all types of tissues in the body [3]. This discovery challenged the long-held dogma that cellular development was a one-way street, revolutionizing the field of regenerative medicine and stem cell research [1].

Sources

1. [1] https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2012-10-08-john-gurdon-wins-nobel-prize-work-done-oxford
2. [3] https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/the-2012-nobel-prize-in-physiology-12-10-08/