Embryonic stem cells
Células madre embrionarias (ratón 1981, humanas 1998)
- Date
- 1981 / 1998 · confidence high
- Place
- University of Cambridge (Evans) / University of Wisconsin-Madison (Thomson)
- Credited to
- Martin Evans and Matthew Kaufman, Gail Martin (1981); James Thomson (human cells, 1998)
- People
- 👤 Gail Gaymer Martin1937–2023👤 James M. Thomson1878–1959👤 Martin Evans1941–👤 Matthew Kaufman1942–2013
- Field
- Life & health
What was discovered
Pluripotent cells derived from the blastocyst, able to give rise to any tissue. They enabled knockout mice and opened up regenerative medicine and an intense ethical debate.
Nobel Prize 2007 to Evans, Capecchi and Smithies.
What it led to
- knockout mice and functional genetics (Capecchi, Smithies)
- regenerative medicine
- the bioethical debate over embryos and legal restrictions
- iPS cells as an alternative
Built on
- In vitro fertilisation (IVF)1978
- teratocarcinomas
- embryo culture