August 10, 2009 - A study by Kyoto University's Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA) reveals a new technique that ignificantly increases the efficiency with which induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells can be generated. The work, led by Hyenjong Hong, a South Korean graduate student, and others in CiRA Director Shinya Yamanaka's lab, shows that the loss of function of the transcription factor p53, which is known for its tumor suppressing activity, results in a dramatic jump in the success rate of reprogramming both mouse and human somatic cells.