Cell Biology: Stem Cells

Question 1

What is a stem cell?

Answer 1

An unspecialised cell that can differentiate into many other cell types.

Question 2

Describe embryonic stem cells.

Answer 2

• can replicate themselves and differentiate into any type of cells (pluripotent)
• may be able to treat conditions such as paralysis and diabetes by dividing to replace damaged cells
• found in early stage embryos

Question 3

Describe adult stem cells.

Answer 3

• can only differentiate into certain cells (multipotent)
• found in many places such as bone marrow, stomach and eyes

Question 4

Where are stem cells found in plants?

Answer 4

in the meristems

Question 5

Describe the stem cells in plants and their function.

Answer 5

• can differentiate into any type of plant cell throughout the plant’s entire life
• these stem cells can be sued to produce clones of whole plants quickly and cheaply
• can be used to grow more plants of rare species
• can also be sued to grow crops of identical plants that have desired features for farmer, eg disease resistance

Question 6

What is therapeutic cloning?

Answer 6

• a cloning method where an embryo is produced with the same genetic makeup as the patient
• the stem cells will not be rejected by the patient’s immune system so can be used to treat certain medical conditions

Question 7

What issues are associated with the use of embryonic stem cells?

Answer 7

• many of the cells are sourced from aborted embryos which would’ve been a potential human life- some people have ethical/religious objections
• development of stem cell therapies is slow, expensive and difficult
• adult stem cells infected with viruses could transfer infections to patients
• if donor stem cells do not have a similar genetic makeup to the patient, an immune response could be triggered