stem cells

• what can embryonic stem cells turn into

  ANY type of cell
• what is differentiation

  process by which a cell changes to become specialised for it's job
• what are undifferentiated cells called

  stem cells
• what can stem cells (undifferentiated cells) do


  divide to produce lots more undifferentiated cells. they can then differentiate into different types of cell, depending on what instructions they're given.
• where are stem cells found


  in early human embryos
• why are stem cells exciting to doctors and medical researchers


  they have the potential to turn into any type of cell
• do adults have stem cells


  yes, but only in specific places such as bone marrow.

  unlike embryonic cells, they can't turn into any type of cell, only certain ones such as blood cells.
• where can stem cells be grown

  in a lab, to be used in medicine or research
• what can stem cells cure


  diseases
• what does medicine use already

  adult stem cells to cure disease.

  e.g. stem cells transferred from the bone marrow of a healthy person can replace faulty blood cells in a patient.
• what can embryonic stem cells be used for

  replacing faulty cells in sick people.

  e.g. you could make insulin producing cells for diabetic people. or nerve cells for people paralysed by spinal injuries.
• what happens in theraputic cloning

  an embryo is made to have the same genetic info as the patient.

  this means the stem cells produced would have the same genes as the patient, so would not get rejected.
• are there risks with using stem cells in medicine


  yes, for example, stem cells grown in the lab may become contaminated with viruses, which would be passed onto the patient.
• why are some people against stem cell research


  they feel human embryos shouldn't be used for experiments, since they are potential human life.

  however, others think that curing existing patients who are suffering is more important than the rights of embyros.
• where do embryos used in research usually come from


  fertility clinics, where is they weren't used for research, they would just be destroyed.
• what can stem cells produce


  identical plants
• in plants, where are stem cells found


  in the meristems
• using stem cells to produce identical plants 


  stem cells in the meristem can be differentiated into any type of plant cells.

  these stem cells can be used to produce clones of whole plants quickly and cheaply.

  they can be used to grow more plants of rare species (to prevent them being wiped out).