Cell Differentiation

Question 1

During the development of an organism, cells _____ into many types of cells

Answer 1

differentiate

Question 2

All organisms start life as just _____ cell

Answer 2

one

Question 3

Most multicellular organisms pass through an early stage of development called an _____, which gradually develops into an adult organism

Answer 3

embryo

Question 4

During _____, an organism’s cells become more differentiated and specialized for particular functions

Answer 4

development

Question 5

The process by which cells become _____ is known as _____.

Answer 5

specialized; differentiation

Question 6

During development, cells differentiate into many different types and become specialized to _____ _____ _____.

Answer 6

perform certain tasks

Question 7

Differentiated cells carry out the _____ that multicellular organisms need to stay alive

Answer 7

jobs

Question 8

In some organisms, a cell’s _____ is determined at a specific point in development

Answer 8

role

Question 9

Cell differentiation in mammals is controlled by a number of interacting factors in the _____

Answer 9

embryo

Question 10

_____ cells generally reach a point at which their differentiation is complete and they can no longer become other types of cells

Answer 10

Adult

Question 11

The unspecialized cells from which differentiated cells develop are known as _____ _____

Answer 11

stem cells

Question 12

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 _____ _____

Answer 12

single cell

Question 13

Biologists say that a cell that is literally able to do everything, to form all the tissues of the body is _____

Answer 13

totipotent

Question 14

Only the _____ _____ and the cells produced by the first few cell divisions of embryonic development are truly totipotent

Answer 14

fertilized egg

Question 15

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.

Answer 15

blastocyst

Question 16

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

Answer 16

pluripotent

Question 17

Stem cells are _____ - cells from which differentiated cells can develop

Answer 17

unspecialized

Question 18

What are the two types of stem cells?

Answer 18

Embryonic and adult

Question 19

_____ stem cells are found in the inner cells mass of the early embryo

Answer 19

Embryonic

Question 20

True or False: Embryonic cells are totipotent

Answer 20

False: they are pluripotent

Question 21

Why are embryonic stem cells better for regenerative science?

Answer 21

Embryonic stem cells have the capacity to produce most of the cell types in the human body

Question 22

Adult organisms contain _____ types of stem cells

Answer 22

some

Question 23

Adult stem cells are _____. They can produce many types of differentiated cells

Answer 23

multipotent

Question 24

Adult stem cells of a given organ or tissue typically produce only the types of cells that are unique to that _____

Answer 24

tissue

Question 25

What are some benefits associated with stem cell research?

Answer 25

Stem cells offer the potential benefit of using undifferentiated cells to repair or replace badly damaged cells and tissues

Question 26

What are some issues associated with stem cell research?

Answer 26

Human embryonic stem cell research is controversial because the arguments for it and against it both involve ethical issues of life and death

Question 27

Stem cell research may lead to new ways to repair the cellular damage that results from _____ _____, _____, and _____ _____ injuries.

Answer 27

heart attacks; strokes; spinal cord

Question 28

Most techniques for harvesting, or gathering, embryonic stem cells cause the _____ of the embryo (and therefore possibly killing a baby, depending on your stand)

Answer 28

destruction

Question 29

Government funding of embryonic stem cell research is an important _____ _____

Answer 29

political issue

Question 30

Groups seeking to protect embryos oppose such research as _____

Answer 30

unethical

Question 31

Other groups support this research as essential to saving human lives and so view it as unethical to _____ the research

Answer 31

restrict