Scientist's stem cell quest triggered by a startling moment

Dr. Shinya Yamanaka, the Japanese scientist who led one of the two teams that recently announced they had turned human skin cells into the equivalent of embryonic stem cells, was driven by a passion to stop the destruction of embryos in medical research. His mission started about eight years ago, he told the New York Times, when he looked at an embryo through a microscope. From that inspirational trigger, Yamanaka was the first to conclude that adult cells could be reprogrammed into stem cells that acted like ESCs by adding master regulator genes. While the work has been lauded by many in research who would like to find a way around the red-hot controversy surrounding ESCs, in Japan Yamanaka's work has been heralded for overcoming the country's reputation for being chronically bad at innovative scientific work.

- check out the profile from The New York Times

Related Articles:
Japanese scientist operates on lean budget. Report
In breakthrough, scientists reprogram skin cells into ESCs. Report
Debate over ESC research still hot. Report
Dolly creator scraps cloning, takes new approach. Report
Ian Wilmut discusses how regulations affect stem cell science. Report