Winning the Biggest Science Prize of Them All

This past Monday, John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka grabbed the greatest prize scientists can receive. The pair were announced as recipients of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. They join great minds like Albert Einstein and Erwin Schrödinger as honorees.

The remarkable thing is that Gurdon and Yamanaka did their research in the same field, but over 40 years apart. The two turned the concept of cell regeneration on its head, and laid the groundwork for real-world applications that might, one day, lead to cures.

GUEST:

• Kevin Eggan, professor of stem cell and regenerative biology at Harvard University.

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Love lists? Here's the full rundown of Nobel Prize winners from 1901 on.

Read more about the winners and their research.