Biology AS OCR
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1-1-practical-skills-written-assessment AS7 主题
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1-2-practical-skills-endorsement-assessment AS16 主题
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1-2-1-practical-ethical-use-of-organisms as
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1-2-2-practical-aseptic-techniques as
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1-2-3-practical-dissection-of-gas-exchange-surfaces-in-fish-and-insects as
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1-2-4-drawing-cells-from-blood-smears as
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1-2-5-practical-investigating-biodiversity-using-sampling as
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1-2-6-practical-data-loggers-and-computer-modelling as
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1-2-7-practical-investigating-the-rate-of-diffusion as
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1-2-8-practical-investigating-water-potential as
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1-2-9-practical-factors-affecting-membrane-structure-and-permeability as
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1-2-10-biochemical-tests-reducing-sugars-and-starch as
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1-2-11-biochemical-tests-lipids as
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1-2-12-biochemical-tests-proteins as
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1-2-13-chromatography as
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1-2-14-serial-dilutions as
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1-2-15-practical-investigating-the-rate-of-transpiration as
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1-2-16-practical-using-a-light-microscope as
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1-2-1-practical-ethical-use-of-organisms as
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2-1-cell-structure AS9 主题
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2-1-2-using-a-microscope as
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2-1-3-drawing-cells as
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2-1-4-magnification-and-resolution as
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2-1-5-eukaryotic-cells as
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2-1-6-eukaryotic-cells-under-the-microscope as
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2-1-7-organelles-and-the-production-of-proteins as
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2-1-8-the-cytoskeleton as
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2-1-9-prokaryotic-and-eukaryotic-cells as
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2-1-1-studying-cells as
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2-1-2-using-a-microscope as
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2-2-biological-molecules AS17 主题
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2-2-1-properties-of-water as
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2-2-2-monomers-and-polymers as
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2-2-3-monosaccharides as
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2-2-4-the-glycosidic-bond as
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2-2-5-polysaccharides as
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2-2-6-biochemical-tests-reducing-sugars-and-starch as
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2-2-7-lipids-and-ester-bonds as
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2-2-8-lipids-structure-and-function as
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2-2-9-biochemical-tests-lipids as
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2-2-10-amino-acids-and-peptide-bonds as
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2-2-11-protein-structure as
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2-2-12-globular-proteins as
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2-2-13-fibrous-proteins as
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2-2-14-inorganic-ions as
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2-2-15-biochemical-tests-proteins as
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2-2-16-finding-the-concentration-of-a-substance as
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2-2-17-chromatography as
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2-2-1-properties-of-water as
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2-3-nucleotides-and-nucleic-acids AS8 主题
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2-4-enzymes AS9 主题
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2-4-1-the-role-of-enzymes as
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2-4-2-enzyme-action as
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2-4-3-enzyme-activity-ph as
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2-4-4-enzyme-activity-temperature as
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2-4-5-enzyme-activity-enzyme-concentration as
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2-4-6-enzyme-activity-substrate-concentration as
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2-4-7-enzyme-activity-enzyme-inhibitors as
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2-4-8-coenzymes-cofactors-and-prosthetic-groups as
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2-4-9-practical-measuring-enzyme-activity as
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2-4-1-the-role-of-enzymes as
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2-5-biological-membranes AS9 主题
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2-5-1-the-cell-surface-membrane as
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2-5-2-membrane-structure-and-permeability as
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2-5-3-diffusion-and-facilitated-diffusion as
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2-5-4-practical-investigating-the-rate-of-diffusion as
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2-5-5-active-transport as
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2-5-6-endocytosis-and-exocytosis as
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2-5-7-osmosis as
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2-5-8-osmosis-in-animal-and-plant-cells as
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2-5-9-practical-investigating-water-potential as
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2-5-1-the-cell-surface-membrane as
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2-6-cell-division-cell-diversity-and-cellular-organisation AS11 主题
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2-6-1-the-cell-cycle as
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2-6-2-the-stages-of-mitosis as
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2-6-3-identifying-mitosis-in-plant-cells as
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2-6-4-the-significance-of-mitosis as
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2-6-5-the-stages-of-meiosis as
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2-6-6-the-significance-of-meiosis as
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2-6-7-specialised-cells as
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2-6-8-the-organisation-of-cells as
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2-6-9-stem-cells as
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2-6-10-stem-cells-in-animals-and-plants as
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2-6-11-the-use-of-stem-cells as
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2-6-1-the-cell-cycle as
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3-1-exchange-surfaces AS7 主题
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3-2-transport-in-animals AS12 主题
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3-2-1-the-need-for-transport-systems-in-animals as
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3-2-2-circulatory-systems as
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3-2-3-blood-vessels as
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3-2-4-tissue-fluid as
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3-2-5-the-mammalian-heart as
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3-2-6-practical-mammalian-heart-dissection as
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3-2-7-the-cardiac-cycle as
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3-2-8-cardiac-output as
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3-2-9-heart-action-initiation-and-control as
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3-2-10-electrocardiograms-ecgs as
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3-2-11-the-role-of-haemoglobin as
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3-2-12-adult-and-fetal-haemoglobin as
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3-2-1-the-need-for-transport-systems-in-animals as
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3-3-transport-in-plants AS11 主题
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3-3-1-the-need-for-transport-systems-in-plants as
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3-3-2-the-xylem-and-phloem as
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3-3-3-the-xylem as
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3-3-4-the-phloem as
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3-3-5-transverse-sections-stems-roots-and-leaves as
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3-3-6-the-process-of-transpiration as
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3-3-7-transpiration-in-plants as
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3-3-8-practical-investigating-the-rate-of-transpiration as
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3-3-9-translocation as
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3-3-10-the-mass-flow-hypothesis as
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3-3-11-the-adaptations-of-xerophytic-and-hydrophytic-plants as
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3-3-1-the-need-for-transport-systems-in-plants as
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4-1-communicable-diseases-disease-prevention-and-the-immune-system AS16 主题
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4-1-1-common-pathogens-and-communicable-diseases as
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4-1-2-transmission-of-communicable-pathogens as
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4-1-3-plant-defences-against-pathogens as
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4-1-4-non-specific-immune-responses as
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4-1-5-phagocytes as
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4-1-6-blood-cells as
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4-1-7-the-t-lymphocyte-response as
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4-1-8-the-b-lymphocyte-response as
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4-1-9-primary-and-secondary-immune-responses as
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4-1-10-antibodies as
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4-1-11-opsonins-agglutinins-and-anti-toxins as
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4-1-12-types-of-immunity as
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4-1-13-autoimmune-diseases as
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4-1-14-principles-of-vaccination as
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4-1-15-sources-of-medicine as
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4-1-16-antibiotics as
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4-1-1-common-pathogens-and-communicable-diseases as
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4-2-biodiversity AS10 主题
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4-2-1-biodiversity as
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4-2-2-sampling-to-determine-biodiversity as
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4-2-3-practical-investigating-biodiversity-using-sampling as
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4-2-4-measuring-species-richness-and-species-evenness as
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4-2-5-simpsons-index as
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4-2-6-genetic-diversity as
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4-2-7-factors-affecting-biodiversity as
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4-2-8-reasons-for-maintaining-biodiversity as
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4-2-9-methods-of-maintaining-biodiversity as
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4-2-10-conservation-agreements as
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4-2-1-biodiversity as
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4-3-classification-and-evolution AS15 主题
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4-3-1-classification-of-species as
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4-3-2-binomial-system as
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4-3-3-classification-of-the-three-domains as
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4-3-4-classification-of-the-five-kingdoms as
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4-3-5-classification-and-phylogeny as
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4-3-6-evidence-of-evolution as
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4-3-7-types-of-variation as
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4-3-8-standard-deviation as
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4-3-9-variation-t-test-method as
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4-3-10-variation-t-test-worked-example as
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4-3-11-spearmans-rank-correlation as
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4-3-12-adaptation as
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4-3-13-natural-selection as
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4-3-14-evolution-of-resistance as
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4-3-15-consequences-of-resistance as
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4-3-1-classification-of-species as
2-6-9-stem-cells as
Exam code:H020
Features of Stem Cells
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A stem cell is a cell that can divide (by mitosis) an unlimited number of times
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Each new cell (produced when a stem cell divides) has the potential to remain a stem cell or to develop into a specialised cell such as a blood cell or a muscle cell (by a process known as differentiation)
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This ability of stem cells to differentiate into more specialised cell types is known as potency
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There are three types of potency:
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Totipotency – totipotent stem cells are stem cells that can differentiate into any cell type found in an embryo, as well as extra-embryonic cells (the cells that make up the placenta). The zygote formed when a sperm cell fertilises an egg cell is totipotent, as are the embryonic cells up to the 16-cell stage of human embryo development
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Pluripotency – pluripotent stem cells are embryonic stem cells that can differentiate into any cell type found in an embryo but are not able to differentiate into extra-embryonic cells (the cells that make up the placenta)
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Multipotency – multipotent stem cells are adult stem cells that have lost some of the potency associated with embryonic stem cells and are no longer pluripotent
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Multipotent adult stem cells
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As tissues, organs and organ systems develop, cells become more and more specialised
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Having differentiated and specialised to fulfil particular roles, most adult cells gradually lose the ability to divide until, eventually, they are no longer able to divide
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However, small numbers of stem cells (known as adult stem cells) remain to produce new cells for the essential processes of growth, cell replacement and tissue repair
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Although these adult stem cells can divide (by mitosis) an unlimited number of times, they are only able to produce a limited range of cell types – they are multipotent
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For example, the stem cells found in bone marrow are multipotent adult stem cells – they can only differentiate into blood cells (red blood cells, monocytes, neutrophils and lymphocytes)
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In adults, multipotent stem cells can be found throughout the body (eg. in the bone marrow, skin, gut, heart and brain)
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Research is being carried out on stem cell therapy, which is the introduction of adult stem cells into damaged tissue to treat diseases (eg. leukemia) and injuries (eg. skin burns)

Stem cells can be totipotent, pluripotent or multipotent
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Make sure you learn the three levels of potency of stem cells described above, and what range of cell types these stem cells can differentiate into.Don’t forget, while still classed as stem cells (as they can divide any number of times), only a limited range of specialised cells can be formed from adult stem cells as they have already partially differentiated. For example, stem cells in bone marrow can only produce cells that differentiate into the different types of blood cells.
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