Sir John B. Gurdon
Facts
© The Nobel Foundation. Photo: U. Montan
Sir John B. Gurdon
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2012
Born: 2 October 1933, Dippenhall, United Kingdom
Affiliation at the time of the award: Gurdon Institute, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Prize motivation: “for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent”
Prize share: 1/2
Life
John Gurdon was born in Dippenhall, Hampshire, UK. He studied at Eton College boarding school, although his grades were not particularly good. A report written by one of his teachers called his ambition to devote himself to science ridiculous. Gurdon pursued his dream nonetheless, and went on to earn his PhD from Oxford University. After spending some years at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Gurdon returned to Oxford in 1962. He has been affiliated with Cambridge University since 1971. John Gurdon is married with two children.
Work
Our lives begin when a fertilized egg divides and forms new cells that, in turn, also divide. These cells are identical in the beginning, but become increasingly varied over time. It was long thought that a mature or specialized cell could not return to an immature state, but this has now been proven incorrect. In 1962, John Gurdon removed the nucleus of a fertilized egg cell from a frog and replaced it with the nucleus of a cell taken from a tadpole's intestine. This modified egg cell grew into a new frog, proving that the mature cell still contained the genetic information needed to form all types of cells.
Nobel Prizes and laureates
Six prizes were awarded for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. The 12 laureates' work and discoveries range from proteins' structures and machine learning to fighting for a world free of nuclear weapons.
See them all presented here.
