Close window Published online: 1 February 2007; | doi:10.1038/news070129-11 Virgin invests in stem cellsMultifaceted company gets into healthcare for the future.Matt Brown Virgin births: Richard Branson launches the first dual - public and private - umbilical cord stem cell bank.Clara Molden/PA/EMPICS Richard Branson, more famous for investing in planes, trains and music through Virgin Group, today announced his first foray into healthcare. Virgin Health Bank, a collaboration with London-based investment company Merlin Biosciences, will store blood stem cells from umbilical cord tissue for the treatment of blood diseases. In a departure from existing commercial cord stem-cell banks, the sample...