Abstract:
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The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2012 have been
awarded jointly to Sir John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka
“for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to
become pluripotent” as it is described in the Nobel Prize web
site. Professors Gurdon and Yamanaka have all the merits to
be bestowed with such a prestigious award for their seminal
discoveries in the area. However, we can also consider this annual
prize as a recognition to Epigenetics, similarly to the
Nobel Prize of 2006 for Andrew Z. Fire and Craig C. Mello for
their of RNA interference - gene silencing by doublestranded
RNA. Reprogramming requires changing the epigenome
of the cells and non-coding RNAs are critical elements
in the establishment of epigenetic patterns |