advanced information paper 1 Flashcards
is most of the cell cycle growth and DNA replication or mitosis?
growth and DNA replication
describe the events of the cell cycle that need to occur before mitosis can begin [2 marks]
the cell has to increase the amount of its subcellular structures [1 mark] and duplicate its DNA [1 mark]
what are chromosomes? What do they contain?
coiled up lengths of DNA molecules. Each chromosome contains a large number of genes
how many copies of each chromosome does the body normally have?
two - one from the ‘mother’ and one from the ‘father’
how many pairs of chromosomes are there in a human cell?
23
what is the cell cycle?
a series of stages where body cells in multicellular organisms divide to produce new cells
what is the stage of the cell cycle when the cell divides called?
mitosis
what do multicellular organisms use mitosis for?
to grow, or replace cells that have been damaged
what are the two main stages of the cell cycle?
- Growth and DNA replication
2. Mitosis
what are the three stages of growth and DNA replication?
- In a cell that’s not dividing, the DNA is all spread out in long strings
- Before it divides, the cell has to grow and increase the amount of subcellular structures such as mitochondria and ribosomes
- It then duplicates its DNA so there’s one copy for each new cell. The DNA is copied and forms X-shaped chromosomes. Each ‘arm’ of the chromosome is an exact duplicate of the other
what are the three stages of mitosis?
- The chromosomes line up at the centre of the cell and cell fibres pull them apart. The two arms of each chromosome go to opposite ends of the cell
- Membranes form around each of the sets of chromosomes. These become the nuclei of the two new cells - the nucleus has been divided
- Lastly, the cytoplasm and cell membrane divide
what are eukaryotic cells?
a basic unit of life with a nucleus
what is meristem tissue?
undifferentiated plant cells
what are undifferentiated cells called?
stem cells
what is differentiation?
the process by which a cell changes to become specialised for its job
what are clones?
genetically identical cells
what is a risk involved in using stem cells in medicine?
stem cells grown in the lab may become contaminated with a virus which could be passed on to the patient and so make them sicker
why are some people against stem cell research?
some people feel that human embryos shouldn’t be used for experiments since each one is a potential human life. They feel that scientists should concentrate more on finding and developing other sources of stem cells, so people could be helped without having to use embryos
where are stem cells found in plants?
in the meristems
can cells in the meristem tissues (plant stem cells) differentiate into any type of plant cell throughout the plants entire life?
yes
what are some uses of plant stem cells?
plant stem cells can be used to produce clones of whole plants quickly and cheaply.
They can be used to grow more plants of a rare species to prevent them being wiped out
they can be used to grow crops of identical plants that have desired features for farmers, for example, disease resistance
where are stem cells found?
in early human embryos, and in certain places in adults, such as bone marrow
why are embryonic stem cells exciting for doctors and medical researchers?
they have the potential to turn into any kind of cell at all
what can be done with stem cells?
stem cells from embryos and bone marrow can be grown in a lab to produce clones and made to differentiate into specialised cells to use in medicine or research
give an example of how medicine already uses adult stem cells to cure disease
stem cells transferred from the bone marrow of a healthy person can replace faulty blood cells in the patient who receives them
give two examples of how embryonic stem cells could be used to replace faulty cells in sick people
- you could make insulin-producing cells for people with type 1 diabetes
- you could make nerve cells for people paralysed by spinal injuries
what is therapeutic cloning?
a type of cloning where an embryo could be made to have the same genetic information as the patient
what is an advantage of therapeutic cloning?
the embryo has the same genetic information as the patient, so the stem cells produced from it would also contain the same genes and so wouldn’t be rejected by the patients body if used to replace faulty cells
why do some people think stem cell research should be allowed?
they think that curing existing patients who are suffering is more important than the rights of an embryo.
is stem cell research banned in the UK?
no - it’s allowed so long as it follows strict guidelines (it is banned in some countries)
how can stem cells be used to preserve rare plant species? [2 marks]
copies of the plant can be made by taking stem cells from the meristem of the plant [1 mark] and growing them into new, genetically identical plants (clones) [1 mark]
What are the levels of organisation?
Cell -> tissue -> organ -> organ system -> organism
What is a tissue? Give an example.
A group of similar cells that work together to carry out a particular function, e.g. Muscle tissue
give 3 examples of tissues in mammals
- muscular tissue
- glandular tissue
- epithelial tissue
what does muscular tissue do?
contract to move whatever it’s attached to
what does glandular tissue do?
make and secrete chemicals like enzymes and hormones
what does epithelial tissue do?
it covers some parts of the body, e.g. on the inside of the gut
what is an organ?
a group of different tissues that work together to perform a certain function
which three tissues is the stomach made out of? what is each of their purposes?
- muscular tissue, which moves the stomach wall to churn up the food
- glandular tissue, which makes digestive juices to digest food
- epithelial tissue, which covers the inside and outside of the stomach
what is an organ system?
a group of organs working together to perform a particular function