What are stem cells?
In GCSE biology, a stem cell is an undifferentiated cell that is capable of dividing to produce many more cells. The resulting cells may be the same cell type, i.e. more stem cells, or they can differentiate to form specialised cells that allow tissues, organs, and organ systems to develop in multicellular organisms. The type of cells that can develop depends on the type and location of the initial stem cell.
Animal stem cells can be either embryonic or adult. Embryonic stem cells are found in the early embryo and have the ability to differentiate into most cell types, while adult stem cells are limited to specific locations within mature tissue, e.g. in the bone marrow, skin and umbilical cord. Adult stem cells are limited in their ability to differentiate and can only differentiate into a few cell types.
Stem cells have the potential to be used in medical applications, for example, replacing nerve cells in damaged spinal cords or pancreas cells in type I diabetes. Some people have ethical concerns about the use of embryonic stem cells in medicine.
In plants, stem cells are located in regions known as meristems, which are the parts of a plant where growth occurs. For example, stem cells in the meristem at the tip of a shoot are involved with shoot growth, allowing a plant to grow taller. Plant stem cells can differentiate into any type of plant cell.
Stem cells revision resources to ace your exams
You can explore stem cells further using our GCSE revision notes, topic questions and flashcards for your specific exam board:
Meet all your GCSE biology revision needs using our revision resources linked below. This includes revision notes, videos, flashcards and exam questions with student-friendly mark schemes.
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