Takahashi and Yamanaka reprogrammed mice fibroblast cells, which can produce only other fibroblast cells, to become pluripotent stem cells, which have the capacity to produce many different types of cells. This they achieved by altering the expression of four genes. Full text available from Cell.com at this link.  See also No. 14063.

In 2012 Yamanaka shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Sir John B. Gurdon "for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent."

Yamanaka (Nobel Prize 2012) and colleagues demonstrated the generation of Induced Pluripotent Stems Cells (iPS) from adult human dermal fibroblasts with the same 4 mice factors they used in GM 13287. By overexpressing these transcription factors in the human fibroblasts they report having isolated human pluripotent stems cells that resemble human embryonic stem cells by all measured criteria. At the end of their paper they stated, "Our study has opened an avenue to generate patient and disease-specific pluripotent stem cells."  See also No. 13287.

Order of authorship in original publication: Takahashi, Tanabe, Ohnuki, Yamanaka.

(Thanks to Juan Weiss for this reference and its interpretation.)