Stem cells

• What is a stem cell?

  special cells produced by bone marrow that can turn into different types of blood cells.
• Where can stem cell be found ?

  in bone marrow they differentiate to form cells in our blood
• What is leukaemia ?

  a cancer of the bone marrow
• How do you treat leukaemia ?

  • first the existing bone marrow is destroyed using radiation
  • then they recieves a transplant of bone marrow from a donor
  • the stem cells in the bone marrow divide and form new bone marrow
  • they also differentiate and form blood cells
• What are the cons of having a bone marrow transplant ?

  • the donor has to be compatible with the patient otherwise the white blood cells produced by the donated bone marrow could attack the patients body
  • a risk that viruses can be passed from the donor to the patient
• What is therapeutic cloning ?

  an embryo is produced with the same genes as the patient
• What is a good thing about therapeutic cloning?

  stem cells from the embryo can be transplanted into the patients without being rejected by the immune system
• What can therapeutic cloning be used for ?


  can be used for a range of medical conditions like diabetics or paralysis
• Where can you find stem cells in plants ?

  roots and buds contain meristem tissues which can differentiate into any type of plant tissue at any time
• What can you use meristem tissue for ?

  • to clone a rare plant to stop it from going extinct
  • produced clone crops for farmer