Mandie Sami reported this story on Thursday, August 14, 2014 12:34:00

ELEANOR HALL: Australian scientists have made what they say is one of the most significant discoveries in stem cell research, and they made it by accident studying zebrafish.



In research published today in the journal Nature, they reveal that they've found out how one of the most important stem cells in blood and bone marrow is formed.



As Mandie Sami reports, it's something that has baffled scientists for decades.



JOHN RASKO: This is a great example of fantastic Australian research. If we don't contribute to this kind of research, then we won't be able to see improvements in the future for everybody suffering from these serious diseases - leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma and a series of different solid cancers.



MANDIE SAMI: Professor John Rasko specialises in haematology at the University of Sydney and he's one the many scientists excited about the discovery made by Australian researchers at Monash University.



He says what's extraordinary is that the finding was made accidentally.



JOHN RASKO: Isn't it wonderful to reflect that these researchers were first trying to understand how muscles are produced but now have shed extraordinary light on how blood is produced. What a wonderful example of serendipity where studying muscles has shed extraordinary new light on blood cell formation.



MANDIE SAMI: The haematopoietic stem cells - also known as HSC - are capable of replenishing the body's supply of blood cells.



But before this discovery, scientists didn't know anything about how the cells were formed, so growing them in a lab and using them to treat blood disorders such as leukaemia was impossible.



But as Professor Rasko explains, this research brings that possibility closer to reality.



JOHN RASKO: This provides us with one new piece of the puzzle that might one day allow us to learn how to grow blood-forming stem cells outside of the body which is currently impossible.



It's a small piece of the puzzle but it's a very, very important piece because understanding how blood is formed in the embryo sheds light on the mechanisms that are essential to understand if one day we are able to do this in the laboratory.



MANDIE SAMI: The research involved filming zebrafish, which have transparent embryos, so the scientists could clearly see the developmental changes as they occurred.



Professor Peter Currie, from Monash University's Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, led the study. He's described the discovery as ground breaking.



PETER CURRIE: It has impact for all stem cell therapies cause this particular stem cell is a paradigmatic example of how a stem cell behaves, so understanding that will impact all those types of therapies.



MANDIE SAMI: So what has your research uncovered that's brought us closer to that?



PETER CURRIE: So we use bizarrely used this little freshwater fish called a zebrafish. Basically it is because they're completely optically clear, we can see every single formed cell on the body, every organ form, the heart beating, blood coursing.



We can see the cells glowing under the microscope so we can actually make home movies if you like, of the cells as they form in the embryo, and by playing these movies back and looking at them, we get a very good understanding about how these particular cell populations form in the embryo.



MANDIE SAMI: Professor John Rasko is confident that the finding will be used to eventually treat multiple blood disorders and diseases.



JOHN RASKO: This revolutionary research sheds light on the basic mechanisms by which blood is produced.



ELEANOR HALL: And that's Professor John Rasko from the University of Sydney, ending Mandie Sami's report.