As 2007 draws to a close, journals and magazines review the year’s big achievements. Topping their science advance lists is a stem cell research breakthrough partially funded by NIGMS. Two teams, including one led by James Thomson and Junying Yu at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, reprogrammed ordinary skin cells into cells that appear to look and act just like human embryonic stem cells. This work could speed progress toward producing an unlimited supply of customized cells that could be used as replacements for injured or diseased tissues and as powerful tools to study diseases and drugs in the laboratory.
Nature magazine named the stem cell research as the top science news item of 2007 [link available by subscription].
Time magazine listed the advance as the top scientific discovery of 2007.
Science magazine labeled the work the first runner-up in its "Breakthrough of the Year" compilation. Another NIGMS-funded accomplishment on Science's list of notable research advances is the structure of the human beta2-adrenergic receptor.
For more on the stem cell research advance, see http://publications.nigms.nih.gov/biobeat/07%2D12%2D19/#4 and http://www.nih.gov/news/research_matters/december2007/12032007stemcell.htm.
Reporters who wish to interview an NIGMS official about these or other significant research achievements in 2007 may contact the Office of Communications and Public Liaison at 301-496-7301 or info@nigms.nih.gov.
