1.4 Cellular Differentiation Flashcards
What is cellular differentiation?
Cellular differentiation is the process by which a cell expresses certain genes to produce proteins characteristic for that type of cell
What does cellular differentiation allow?
It allows a cell to carry out specialised functions
What is a meristem?
Meristems are regions of unspecialised cells in plants that can divide (self renew) and/or differentiate
What are Embryonic stem cells?
Cells in the very early embryo that can differentiate into all cell types that make up the organism, making them pluripotent
What are tissue stem cells?
Tissue stem cells are involved in the growth, repair and renewal of the cells found in that tissue, they are multipotent
What are some therapeutic uses of stem cells?
Corneal repair
skin grafts
What are some research uses of stem cells?
Stem cells being used as model cells to study how diseases develop or being used for drug testing
What are the ethical issues of using embryonic stem cells?
It involves the destruction of embryos
