Shinya Yamanaka's selection for the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine, just six years after developing artificially derived multipurpose stem cells, has boosted hopes the technology will lead to cures for many diseases.
But the rapid pace of research into induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, by scientists around the world has also brought about a host of new concerns, ranging from ethical issues to prohibitive treatment costs.
In the traditional lecture by new Nobel medical laureates given at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Yamanaka on Friday recalled setting a long-term goal for his laboratory in December 1999 when he became principal researcher at Nara Institute of Science and Technology.