Nobel Prize 2012: Groundbreaking stem cell research

This week sees the annual presentation of Nobel Prizes to honour those working in science, medicine, economics, literature and the promotion of peace. The Nobel Prize is considered the highest scientific honour in recognising individuals who have made significant and historic contributions in their respective fields.

When he was 15 years old, Sir John Gurdon was told by his Biology teacher that his ambitions to move into scientific research were ‘quite ridiculous’ . He came last out of 250 pupils in his year and was told that his dreams would amount to a ‘sheer waste of time’.

This week, Sir John Gurdon has been awarded the prize for Physiology or Medicine for his work on stem cells. He shares this prize with Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka. Both men have spent decades researching stem cells.

Embryonic stem cell therapy is a groundbreaking type of medicine that could dramatically enhance the body's ability to repair itself after injury or disease. It is one of the most controversial areas in modern science. It is seen both as an ethically questionable intrusion on potential life and as a breakthrough that may hold the cure for previously untreatable conditions such as Parkinson’s disease.

Instead of using embryonic stem cells, the two prize winners have been investigating the possibility of using mature cells to conduct this testing, removing the need to use embryos, and therefore also removing the debate about creating human life exclusively for medical testing.

Find out more about the debate and ethical implications of using stem cells in medicine with these Twig films.

Stem cell research is one of the most controversial areas in modern science. It is seen both as an ethically questionable intrusion on potential life and as a breakthrough that may hold the cure for previously untreatable conditions such as Parkinson’s disease.