Stem cells

• Mitosis functions - growth , repair , asexual reproduction
• 1 humans start when a sperm cell joins with a ovum ( fertilisation)
• 2 the fertilised cell now undergoes mitosis and forms an embryo
• 3 overtime these cells continue to undergo mitosis and form specialised cells
• 4 overtime these cells form the adult organism
• Stem cell - undifferentiated cell that can divide to produce more of the same type of cell
• Stem cells are also found in adult bone marrow and can be used to treat diseases such as leukaemia
• Bone marrow can only differentiate into blood cells
• To treat leukaemia the patients bone marrow is destroyed by radiation then receives a transplant of bone marrow from a donor the cells then divide and form new bone marrow
• Negative of bone marrow trans

  • donor has to be compatible otherwise white blood cells could attack the body
  • risk that viruses could be passed from donor