cell differentiation & specialisation

Question 1

what is the difference between cell differentiation & specialisation?

Answer 1

differentiation is the process by which unspecialized cells become specialised to carry out distinct functions, while cell specialisation is the process by which cells acquire specialised structures and functions to perform specific tasks within an organism.
overall, cell specialisation is the end result of cell differentiation, and differentiation is the development process.

Question 2

what are stem cells and where are they found?

Answer 2

stem cells are unspecialised and found in embryos. adult stem cells are found in the brain and bone marrow.

Question 3

what is mitosis?

Answer 3

mitosis is a type of cell division where two identical daughter cells are produced, with the same number and type of chromosomes as the original parent cell.
there are 5 distinct phases.

Question 4

what are the 5 distinct phases?

Answer 4

1. Prophase:
   Chromosomes condense and become visible. the nuclear membrane breaks down, and the spindle fibres start to form.
2. Metaphase:
   Chromosomes align in the middle (equatorial plane) of the cell, attached to spindle fibres from both poles.
3. Anaphase: sister chromatids (identical halves of a duplicated chromosome) are pulled apart towards opposite poles of the cell.
4. Telophase:
   chromosomes decondense, the nuclear membrane reforms around each set of chromosomes, and the cell begins to pinch inwards.
5. Cytokinesis:
   the cytoplasm divides, resulting in two genetically identical daughter cells.

Question 5

what is a zygote?

Answer 5

A zygote is the initial cell that is formed when two gametes (sperm and egg) fuse during fertilisation. it represents the very first stage in the development of a new organism.
It contains a complete set of chromosomes- half from the sperm, and half from the mother so it has a full complement of genetic material or diploid chromosomes.

it has the potential to form every cell in the body, an ability known as totipotent.

Question 6

what does totipotent mean?

Answer 6

totipotent is the ability of a single cell to develop into every cell type in the body.
an example of this is the zygote.

Question 7

what does pluripotent mean?

Answer 7

pluripotent is the ability to differentiate into almost any type of cell. unlike totipotent cells, pluripotent cells cannot form an entire organism by themselves, but they can still differentiate into all the major cell types.
an example is embryonic stem cells.

Question 8

what does multipotent mean?

Answer 8

multipoten is the ability of a cell to differentiate into a limited range of cell types within a specific tissue or organ. multipotent cells are more specialised than pluripotent cells and can only form cells related to a certain group.

Question 9

what are the main types of specialised cells in animals?

Answer 9

• red blood cells
• nerve cells
• smooth muscle cells
  striated muscle cells
• bone
• epithelial cells
• sperm cells
• egg cells
• fat (adipose) cells
• connective tissue cells

Question 10

explain plant cell differentiation

Answer 10

in plants, the meistematic tissye which is present in young growing regions sucn as the root and shoot tips contain undifferentiated cells.
as the cells continue to divide and mature, they are differentiated into the specialised cells, such as the phloem cells and xylem tissue.