A bank that will create and supply new lines of embryonic stem cells for research around the world has been opened in Seoul, South Korea.

The new bank is expected the help scientists from countries like the US get round government restrictions on stem cell research. The first branches of the bank will open in the UK and the US.

Woo Suk Hwang, who lead the project and has pioneered the development of stem cells tailored to individual patients: “When the use of these stem cells is limited to a particular country, it takes much too long to create technologies usable for the whole of humanity. By creating a global network, we plan to share stem cells created in each country and share information on those stem cells.”

The South Koreans would not patent the new cell lines but would charge fees on special orders.

Via BBC News.