B1 : Stem cells Flashcards
What are stem cells
Undifferentiated (non-specialized) cells that all other specialized cells come from
What are the 2 main approaches for stem cell therapy
Embryonic stem cells and Adult stem cells
What are the advantages to embryonic stem cell treatment
Can create many embryos in a lab
Painless technique
Can treat many diseases
Can become any type of cell
What are the disadvantages to embryonic stem cells
Harm / death to embryo
Embryo rights
Unreliable
What are the advantages to adult stem cell treatment
No ethical issues / patient can give consent
Can treat some diseases
Procedure is safe / doesn’t kill donor
Reliable
Patients recover quickly
What are the disadvantages to adult stem cells
Risk of transfer of viral infections
Procedure can be painful
Can treat a few diseases as compared to embryonic stem cell treatment
What is a source of embryonic stem cells
Umbilical cord blood or donor embryos from IVF treatment
What are adult stem cells
Stem cells taken from bone marrow
Where are most plant stem cells found
At the Meristems (tips of roots)
What can stem cells from plant meristems be used for
To make clones of the mature plant allowing production of large amount of plants quickly and economically
Where can meristems be found in a plant
In the roots and shoots
Why are meristems important
Meristems are used to make clones of the mature plant and can do this for the life of the plant
Explain the use of meristems in plants for human benefits
They can make many clones of the adult plants.
This means that we can produce more new plants which speed up plant production and can therefore make more money.
Also we can control characteristics like crop resistance which is an advantage in agriculture.
