About 20 years ago, scientists discovered that skin cells could be converted into pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which can become various cell types. However, this process takes weeks and often faces roadblocks, with cells getting “stuck” in intermediate stages.

Converting one type of cell to another—for example, a skin cell to a neuron—can be done through a process that requires the skin cell to be induced into a "pluripotent" stem cell, then differentiated into a neuron.

One of the most amazing things to happen in biology in the last couple of years is cellular reprogramming. We learned how to convert one type of cell into another. In 2006, Shinya Yamanaka made a groundbreaking discovery that would win him the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine just six years later: he found a new way to ‘reprogram’ adult,

A new technique developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology helps convert skin cells into neurons without needing to transform them first into stem cells. As demonstrated in mouse cells, this method makes it easier and more efficient to produce large-scale quantities of neurons.