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The first stem cell bank in the world opened last week in the United Kingdom, with the aim of providing an international resource for storing, characterising, and supplying ethically approved, quality controlled, stem cell lines for research and, ultimately, for treatment.
Credit: DR GARY GAUGLER/SPL The bank is being run by the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control-a government funded organisation involved in quality assurance of research related to biological medicines.
Its key aims are to improve access to high quality stem cells for research. The Medical Research Council and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council will fund the work of the bank.
Cell banks already exist for many other types of cell line, but this...