GS IAS Logo

< Previous | Contents | Next >

79. INDUCED PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS (iPSC)


iPSCs are body (somatic) cells which have been reprogrammed to function like embryonic stem cells, thereby sidestepping the controversial use of killing the embryos while harvesting the stem cells.

This is done by introducing four regulatory factors (pieces of DNA) into the cells.

Scientists at the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, China have claimed that they have improved the efficiency of Shinya Yamanaka’s invention of producing induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSC) which won Nobel Prize in Medicine.