Stem Cells

• Embryonic stem cells can differentiate into any type of cell in the body and are only found in embryos
• Plant stem cells are found in the meristems of plants. These are the tip of the roots and the tip of the shoots
• Adult stem cells are found in the middle of the bone, in the jelly-like substance called the bone-marrow
• Stem cells can divide by mitosis to produce more stem cells or differentiate into specialised cells.
• 1. Sperm fertilises the egg cell and forms a single cell called a zygote
  2. The cell divides by mitosis to form a ball of cells which we call an embryo
  3. These cells are called embryonic stem cells and can differentiate into any type of cell
• Adult stem cells can also divide by mitosis
• Adult stem cells can only differentiate into blood cells
• Plant stem cells remain and persist for the plant's entire life