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2.8 and 2.9 Stem Cells in Embryos, Animals and Plants and Benefits/Risks…
2.8 and 2.9 Stem Cells in Embryos, Animals and Plants and Benefits/Risks of their Use in Medicine
Intro
A stem cell is an undifferentiated cell which can undergo division to produce many more similar cells, of which some will differentiate to have different functions
Types of Stem Cells
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Meristems in Plants
They can differentiate into any type of plant, and have this ability throughout the life of the plant
They can be used to make clones of the plant- this may be necessary if the parent plant has certain desirable features (such as disease resistance), for research or to save a rare plant from extinction
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Embryonic Stem Cells
Scientists can clone these cells (though culturing them) and direct them to differentiate into almost any cell in the body
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These could potentially be used to replace insulin-producing cells in those suffering from diabetes, new neural cells for diseases such as Alzheimer’s, or nerve cells for those paralysed with spinal cord injuries
Therapeutic Cloning
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These could be grown into any cells the patient needed, such as new tissues or organs
The advantage is that they would not be rejected as they would have the exact same genetic make-up as the individual
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