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Stem Cells - Papers Online

Stem Cells

Stem Cells

What is a stem cell?

Stem cells have the ability to divide for indefinite periods in culture and to give rise to specialized cells. They are best described in the context of normal human development. Human development begins when a sperm fertilizes an egg and creates a single cell that has the potential to form an entire organism. This fertilized egg is totipotent, meaning that its potential is total. In the first hours after fertilization, this cell divides into identical totipotent cells. This means that either one of these cells, if placed into a woman's uterus, has the potential to develop into a fetus. In fact, identical twins develop when two totipotent cells separate ...

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uterus. The inner cell mass cells will go on to form virtually all of the tissues of the human body. Although the inner cell mass cells can form virtually every type of cell found in the human body, they cannot form an organism because they are unable to give rise to the placenta and supporting tissues necessary for development in the human uterus. These inner cell mass cells are pluripotent — they can give rise to many types of cells but not all types of cells necessary for fetal development. Because their potential is not total, they are not totipotent and they are not embryos. In fact, if an inner cell mass cell were placed into a woman's uterus, it would not develop into a fetus.

The pluripotent stem cells undergo further specialization into stem cells that are committed to give rise to ...

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Stem Cells. (2012, June 24). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Stem-Cells/101210

"Stem Cells." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 24 Jun. 2012. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Stem-Cells/101210>

"Stem Cells." Essayworld.com. June 24, 2012. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Stem-Cells/101210.

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 6/24/2012 09:26:01 PM
Submitted By: DarkCurse101
Category: Science & Nature
Type: Free Paper
Words: 343
Pages: 2

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