Paper 1: Stem Cells Flashcards
What are stems cells?
Cells that divide to produce many types of cells
What are the 3 types of stem cells?
Embryonic stem cells
Adult stem cells
Meristems
What are embryonic stem cells?
Taken from at a very early stage of division
What are adult stem cells?
Divide to replace damaged cells
Where can you find adult stem cells?
In differentiated tissue (bone and skin)
Where are meristems found?
In rapidly growing parts of the plants
What do meristems do?
Divide to produce any kind of plant cells
What are the uses of embryonic stem cells?
Replace/repair brain cells to treat people with Parkinson’s Disease
Replacing damaged cells in the retina of the eye to treat some kinds of blindness
Growing new tissues in the lab to use for transplants or drug testing
What are the uses of adult stem cells?
Treat leukaemia
Grow new tissue that are genetically matched to patients
What are the advantages of embryonic stem cells?
Easy to extract from embryos
Produce any type of cell
What are the disadvantages of embryonic stem cells?
Embryos destroyed when cells removed - people think embryos have a right to life
What are the advantages of adult stem cells?
No embryo destroyed - no ethical issue
If taken from the person to be treated - will not cause rejection
What are the disadvantages of adult stem cells?
Produce only a few types of cells
What are the risk of all stem cells?
Stem cells may not stop dividing - cause cancer
