Stem Cells Flashcards
What Stem cell can turn into any type of cell
Embryonic STEM cells
What is differentiation
Differentiation is the process by which a cell changes to become specialised for its job
What are undifferentiated cells called
Stem cells
What is a stem cell
A stem cell is an undifferentiated cell that can divide to produce lots more undifferentiated cells (they can differentiate into different types of cells depending on what instructions they are given)
Where are stem cells found
Stem cells are found in early human embryos. They have the potential to turn into any type of cell.
Where do all the cells in the human body come from
The few stem cells in an human embryo
Where are adult stem cells sometimes but not only found in
Bone marrow
What type of cell can adult stem cells turn into
None apart from blood cells, heart muscle, bone, brain cells
Stem cells from embryos and bone marrow can be grown in a lab to produce clones why is this useful for scientists?
They are made to differentiate into specialised cells to use in medicine or research
Stem cells transferred from the bone marrow of a healthy person can be replace faulty blood cells - true or false?
True
What type of cells could be made to replace faulty cells in people with diabetes?
Insulin-producing cells
What is therapeutic cloning?
It is where an embryo could be made to have the same genetic information as the patient. This means the stem cells from it would contain the same genes so wouldn’t be rejected by the patient’s body.
What risks are involved in using stem cells in medicine?
They may become contaminated with a virus which could be passed on to the patient and make them more sick.
Why are some people against stem cell research?
They feel that human embryos shouldn’t be used for experiments as each one is a potential human life.
They think scientists should focus on finding other sources of stem cells.
What do campaigners for the use of stem cell research argue?
1 - Curing patients who are suffering is more important than the rights of embryos.
2 - Embryos used in research are usually unwanted which would just be destroyed if not used for research.
