Yamanaka's Nobel supported by experts worldwide
News On Japan via NHKReloaded -- Oct 22
A member of the Nobel Committee says Shinya Yamanaka's selection for the prize in medicine was due to recommendations received from around the world.
Goran Hansson, secretary of the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine, made the comment in an interview with NHK.
The Japanese scientist shared this year's Nobel Prize for Medicine with British scientist John Gurdon.
For Yamanaka, the award came only 6 years after publishing his groundbreaking discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells. The iPS cells can grow into various types of tissue.
It usually takes at least 10 years to receive a Nobel prize after achievements are published.
Hansson said the Nobel Committee realized that Yamanaka was held in high esteem by researchers around the world when recommendation letters arrived soon after publication of his discovery.
The Nobel Committee member expressed high hopes for the clinical application of iPS cells. He said the discovery has opened new doors in the field of medicine.
Source: NHKReloaded
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