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Education is a fundamental component of the work we do at the Australian Stem Cell Centre. The ASCC is committed to providing a range of community programs designed to help the public understand emerging issues in biotechnology and, in particular, stem cell technology.

One of the principal educational functions of the Australian Stem Cell Centre (ASCC) is to encourage robust public debate and encourage a deeper understanding and knowledge of the progress of research and development in this field.

This has been especially important over the last year, as the applicability of advances in human embryonic stem cell research, continued questions about the potential use of different cell types, and considerations of the ability to perform certain aspects of research in Australia are each under consideration.

In fostering public discussion, the ASCC acknowledges that there are different views in society on the ethics of certain forms of stem cell research. For some, the promise of stem cell research is counter balanced by ethical and religious objections to embryo and stem cell research.

The ASCC encourages discussion to form an educated debate, not only to improve the community's understanding of stem cell research and its realistic applications, but to promote an awareness of the spectrum of views.

For secondary school students

The Australian Stem Cell Centre is currently developing a web-based interactive education package which will include film-based footage to describe diseases that are targets for stem cell research, footage of microscopic procedures such as somatic cell nuclear transfer and cell differentiation and verbal explanations of the basic concepts describing what stem cells are and their potential. This resource will be available on the Australian Stem Cell Centre website in early May.

6 fact sheets about stem cells and stem cell research can be accessed via the Resource Library on this website.

Other Public Outreach Tools

• The RIKEN CDB has created a brief animation to highlight some of the basic biological properties of stem cells, explain the different types of stem cell found in the embryonic body and the adult and illustrate the roles of these "master cells" in development and regeneration. View online on the RIKEN Website
• A Stem Cell Story - EuroStemCell public outreach film. An award winning, engaging, accessible and visually stunning introduction to the world of stem cell research. View online on the EuroStemCell website
• ENGAGE: Stem Cells is a high school teaching resource on stem cell research developed through the Ontario Genomics Institute (OGI) by Genome Canada, and the Joint Centre for Bioethics (JCB) at the University of Toronto and available to download from the Stem Cell Network, Canada website. The resource was developed in collaboration with teachers and students and has been distributed at no charge to high schools across Canada.