Stem cells Flashcards
What is a zygote?
A fertilised egg
What is a morula?
The 16 cell stage which is a ball of cells and is the last point the cell can divide to form clones from single cells
What is a blastocyte?
An inner cell mass that forms baby and the trophectoderm forms amniotic sac and fluid
How are specialised cells formed?
By differentiation
What happens as cells differentiate?
They become more restricted in their potential and commit to a certain cell type
What type of cell is an egg?
It is totipotent
Why is an egg totipotent?
Zygote up to morula because it makes whole organism
What type of cell is an embryonic stem cell?
It is pluripotent
Why are embryonic stem cells pluripotent?
Inner cell mass cells are embryonic stem cells and they make 3 layers of body but not placenta
What type of cells are blood stem cells?
Multipotent
What type of cells are adult stem cells?
Multi or unipotent
Why are adults stem cells multi or unipotent
They are undifferentiated but are located in a tissue and they differentiate during maintenance and repair to form specialised cells for that tissue
What is the similarity between all cells?
They all have the same DNA
What causes the difference between cells?
Different cells use different genes to make different proteins
