The UK is to open the world’s first embryo stem cell bank – a move that will bring the country to the forefront of medical research. The bank, which is expected to open within a year, will give scientists unlimited access to a vast number of stem cell lines. Banks holding mature tissues already exist in both the US and Europe, however the British bank will store master stem cells that have the ability to mature into a whole variety of human cells and tissues. British scientists will also be able to develop their own stem-cell lines provided they obtain regulatory permission first, whereas the creation of new lines is illegal in the US and in many other European countries.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Reported by www.cnn.com on the 13th August 2001
