Stem Cells

• What is a stem cell?

  A stem cell is an undifferentiated cell of an organism which is capable of giving rise to many more cells of the same type, and from which certain other cells can arise from differentiation
• What can stem cells from humans embryos be used for?

  cloned and made to differentiate into most different types of human cells.
• What can stem cells from adult bone marrow be used for?

  can form many types of cells including blood cells
• What can meristem tissue in plants differentiate into?

  any type of cell, throughout the life of a plant.
• What medical conditions can stem cells help?

  diabetes and paralysis
• What happens in therapeutic cloning?

  an embryo is produced with the same genes as the patient. Stem cells from the embryo are not rejected by the patient’s body so they may be used for medical treatment.
• What risks are there with using stem cells?

  transfer of viral infection, and some people have ethical or religious objections
• What can stem cells from meristems be used for?

  produce clones of plants quickly and economically. • Rare species can be cloned to protect from extinction. • Crop plants with special features such as disease resistance can be cloned to produce large numbers of identical plants for farmers.