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Biology vocabulary · Cells and Levels of Organization

Stem cell

Meaning in biology, with examples

/ˈstem ˌsel/nounCommon term

In biology, stem cell means: An unspecialized cell that can divide many times and develop into one or more specialized cell types, such as muscle, nerve or blood cells.

In Turkish: kök hücre

How it is used

The key ideas are self-renewal and differentiation. Embryonic stem cells can become almost any cell type; adult stem cells, such as those in bone marrow, are more limited. In plants, stem cells sit in meristems at the tips of roots and shoots.

Example sentences

  1. Blood stem cells in the bone marrow produce red cells, white cells and platelets.

  2. The lab is studying how stem cells differentiate into heart muscle cells.

Common collocations

  • embryonic stem cell
  • adult stem cell
  • stem cell therapy
  • stem cell differentiation
  • cellThe smallest unit of life that can survive on its own. Every living thing is made of one or more cells, and each cell is surrounded by a membrane.
  • mitosisA type of cell division in which one cell produces two daughter cells with the same number of chromosomes and the same genetic information as the parent cell.
  • tissueA group of similar cells that work together to do a particular job. Organs are made of several different types of tissue.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Cells and Levels of Organization

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