SHREWSBURYâ?? It takes a few seconds to get a glimpse of the precious cargo loaded into the laboratory cooler that Dr. Gary Stein opens, mostly because of the frosty fog that billows out.
Then the air clears, and boxes of samples come into view: human embryonic stem cells.
Itâ??s the initial inventory for the new UMass Stem Cell Bank, a repository that organizers hope will come to hold more than 100 types of stem cells. Launched with a $7.7 million state grant, the bank is an early sign of Gov. Deval L. Patrickâ??s push to invest $1 billion in the life sciences in Massachusetts over 10 years to promote the stateâ??s economy. Starting Wednesday, the bank will begin accepting embryonic stem cell â??deposits,â? the first step in eventually making cells available to researchers.