James thomson stem cell biography

American developmental biologist

For other people named James Thomson, see James Thomson (disambiguation).

James Alexander Thomson is an American developmental biologist best known for deriving the first human embryonic stem cell line in 1998^[1] and for deriving human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) in 2007.^[2]

Research

Human embryonic stem cells [which are cells that reproduce over and over and over again until they eventually die.

they are what other cells 'stem' from] can divide without limit, and yet maintain the potential to make all the cells of the body. This remarkable potential makes them useful for basic research on the function of the human body, for drug discovery and testing, and as a source of cells and tissues for transplantation medicine.

In 1998, Thomson's Lab was the first to report the successful isolation of human embryonic stem cells. On November 6, 1998, Science published this research in an a