Second string for stem cell centre

The Australian Stem Cell Centre (ASCC) has officially opened a second outpost in Queensland.

The Brisbane node, opened today by the federal minister for science, Senator Kim Carr, is based at the Queensland Bioscience Precinct at the University of Queensland. It will be headed up by the ASCC's chief scientist, Professor Melissa Little, who works out of her own laboratory at UQ's Institute for Molecular Biosciences.

The Queensland laboratories house the first human embryonic stem cell production facility in the state and the ASCC's hESC lines will now be available to Brisbane-based stem cell researchers.

The Queensland lines are expanded from existing hESC lines, known as MEL1 and MEL2.

The Queensland node is a collaborative effort between UQ, the Australian Institute for Nanotechnology and Biotechnology, the IMB and the Mater Medical Research Institute.

The central project for the majority of the Queensland group is the investigation, using various adult and cord blood stem cells, of the development of manufactured blood products such as red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.

Other projects include research into adult stem cells to treat kidney and heart disease and tissue regeneration.