Cloning and stem cells Flashcards
What are clones?
Genetically identical individuals
How many parents does asexual reproduction require?
One
What do many plants develop that later develop into the following year’s plant?
Underground food-storage organs
Give two examples of plants that develop underground food-storage organs
Daffodils and potato plants
Name two animals that reproduce asexually
Starfish and anemones
What is meant by the term ‘natural cloning’?
Twins are genetically identical because they are formed after one fertilised egg cell splits into two cells.
What are the benefits of ‘artificial cloning’?
It allows an individual animal that has desirable features, such as a cow that produces a lot of milk, to be duplicated several times.
At what stage of development to cells become specialized?
Embryo
What is a stem cell?
Unspeciallised cells that can develop into any kind of cell in the body
What can stem cells be used for?
making new brain cells to treat people with Parkinson’s disease; rebuilding bones and cartilage; repairing damaged immune systems; making replacement heart valves
What are the steps involved in Therapeutic Cloning? (6)
- nucleus taken out of a human egg cell
- nucleus from a patient’s cell put into the egg cell
- egg cell stimulated to develop into an embryo
- stem cells taken from the embryo
- stem cells grown in a container of warm nutrients
- stem cells treated to develop into required cell types
What is an embryo transplant?
A developing embryo is removed from an animal’s womb before the cells become specialized. The cells are separated, grown in a lab for a while then transplanted into a host mother
What does fusion cell cloning involve?
Replacing the nucleus of an unfertilised egg with one from a different cell
