stem cells

• Stem Cells


  Undifferentiated cells, which can divide to produce lots more stem cells, and can differentiate into many other types of cell
• Sources of stem cells

  • Stem cells from adult bone marrow
  • Stem cells from human embryos
  • Stem cells from plant meristems
• Stem cells from adult bone marrow

  • Can become many kinds of blood cells
• Stem cells from human embryos


  • Can become any kind of human cell
• Stem cells from plant meristems


  • Can become any kind of plant cell
• Uses of Stem Cells

  • Produce clones of whole plants quickly and cheaply
  • Stem cells could produce nerve cells to treat paralysis
  • Stem cells could produce insulin-producing cells to treat diabetes
  • In therapeutic cloning, an embryo could be made with the same genes as the patient-then stem cells used from the embryo wouldn't be rejected by the patient
• Stem cells can be grown in a lab and made to differentiate into specialised cells
• Risk: stem cells from the lab could get a virus


  Could get transferred to the patient