Animal Stem Cells (Edexcel GCSE Biology: Combined Science)

• A stem cell is an undifferentiated cell that is capable of dividing to produce many more cells of the same type
• Stem cells can give rise to other cell types by the process of differentiation
• In animals there are several different types of stem cell
  • Embryonic stem cells are important as they help to form all of the different tissues and organs needed during development to form a whole new individual
    • Cells in the very early embryo can differentiate to become any other type of body cell
  • Adult stem cells , however, are much more limited and can only differentiate to produce a few different cell types.
    • Adult stem cells are predominantly used to replace cells lost through damage or to produce new cells for growth – although the bone marrow has to continually make new blood cells throughout life

Animal Stem Cells Table