Cell Differentiation Flashcards
The information about cell differentiation
During the development of an organism, cells _____ into many types of cells
differentiate
All organisms start life as just _____ cell
one
Most multicellular organisms pass through an early stage of development called an _____, which gradually develops into an adult organism
embryo
During _____, an organism’s cells become more differentiated and specialized for particular functions
development
The process by which cells become _____ is known as _____.
specialized; differentiation
During development, cells differentiate into many different types and become specialized to _____ _____ _____.
perform certain tasks
Differentiated cells carry out the _____ that multicellular organisms need to stay alive
jobs
In some organisms, a cell’s _____ is determined at a specific point in development
role
Cell differentiation in mammals is controlled by a number of interacting factors in the _____
embryo
_____ cells generally reach a point at which their differentiation is complete and they can no longer become other types of cells
Adult
The unspecialized cells from which differentiated cells develop are known as _____ _____
stem cells
One of the most important questions in biology is how all of the specialized, differentiated cell types in the body are formed from just a _____ _____
single cell
Biologists say that a cell that is literally able to do everything, to form all the tissues of the body is _____
totipotent
Only the _____ _____ and the cells produced by the first few cell divisions of embryonic development are truly totipotent
fertilized egg
After about four days of development, a human embryo forms into a _____, a hollow ball of cells with a cluster of cells inside known as the inner cell mass.
blastocyst
The cells of the inner cell mass are said to be _____, which means that they are capable of developing into many, but not all, of the cell’s body types
pluripotent
Stem cells are _____ - cells from which differentiated cells can develop
unspecialized
What are the two types of stem cells?
Embryonic and adult
_____ stem cells are found in the inner cells mass of the early embryo
Embryonic
True or False: Embryonic cells are totipotent
False: they are pluripotent
Why are embryonic stem cells better for regenerative science?
Embryonic stem cells have the capacity to produce most of the cell types in the human body
Adult organisms contain _____ types of stem cells
some
Adult stem cells are _____. They can produce many types of differentiated cells
multipotent
Adult stem cells of a given organ or tissue typically produce only the types of cells that are unique to that _____
tissue
What are some benefits associated with stem cell research?
Stem cells offer the potential benefit of using undifferentiated cells to repair or replace badly damaged cells and tissues
What are some issues associated with stem cell research?
Human embryonic stem cell research is controversial because the arguments for it and against it both involve ethical issues of life and death
Stem cell research may lead to new ways to repair the cellular damage that results from _____ _____, _____, and _____ _____ injuries.
heart attacks; strokes; spinal cord
Most techniques for harvesting, or gathering, embryonic stem cells cause the _____ of the embryo (and therefore possibly killing a baby, depending on your stand)
destruction
Government funding of embryonic stem cell research is an important _____ _____
political issue
Groups seeking to protect embryos oppose such research as _____
unethical
Other groups support this research as essential to saving human lives and so view it as unethical to _____ the research
restrict
