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Asked by lockwj to Abyssal Grenadier, Baltic clam, Brachiopod, Common starfish, Naval Shipworm, Orkney vole, Scottish Crossbill, Snake Pipefish, Twisted-wing fly on 20 Nov 2017.
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Naval Shipworm answered on 20 Nov 2017:
Hi! stem cells are cells that have the potential to produce an indefinite number of “daughter cells” – that is, they can keep on making more and more cells, which not all parts of the body can do!
Depending on the type of stem cell, it might be able to make any kind of cell, or perhaps just a specific sort of cell – hematopoietic stem cells, for instance, can make almost all the cells present in blood!
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Common Starfish answered on 20 Nov 2017:
Stem cells are cells that are present in adult animals (and humans) and which have the ability to develop into specialised cell types – e.g. blood cells, nerve cells. So if a starfish is going to grow a new arm they are really important. There is evidence that cells that form the inner lining of the body in starfish (cells in the “coelomic epithelium”) are an important source of stem cells for regenerating new arms.
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Twisted-wing Fly answered on 21 Nov 2017:
These are found in multicellular organisms which are undifferentiated and are capable of giving rise many more cells of the same type from which other kinds of cell can arise.
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Snake Pipefish answered on 22 Nov 2017:
Hi lockwj, sorry about my delay in replying to your question, but I see you already have 3 splendid answers and to be honest, I don’t think I can add anything to them. It’s a good question!
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