The Nobel Prize in medicine for the year 2012 was awarded to John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka for the discovery that mature specialized cells can be reprogrammed to become immature cells. This groundbreaking research showed that adult cells, such as skin cells or blood cells, can be manipulated to become pluripotent stem cells, which have the ability to differentiate into different types of cells in the body.

Option 1 states that mature specialized cells can be reprogrammed to become immature cells, which is the correct answer. This means that cells that have already acquired a specific function can be reversed to a more primitive state, similar to embryonic stem cells, and can then be directed to develop into different types of cells, such as nerve cells or muscle cells.

Option 2, on the other hand, suggests that stem cells can be programmed to develop individual body organs. While stem cells do have the potential to differentiate into different cell types, the research conducted by Gurdon and Yamanaka was focused on reprogramming mature cells, not programming stem cells to develop organs.

Options 3 and 4 are not related to the research that earned Gurdon and Yamanaka the Nobel Prize. Dendritic cells, mentioned in option 3, have a role