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QLDBiologyQuick questions
Unit 1: Cells and multicellular organisms
Quick questions on Hierarchy of organisation and stem cells (QCE Biology Unit 1)
5short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What are stem cells?Show answer
Stem cells are unspecialised cells that have two properties:
What are applications of stem cells?Show answer
Calling all stem cells embryonic. Adult tissues (bone marrow, brain, intestinal crypts, skin) contain multipotent or unipotent stem cells. iPSCs reprogram adult cells back to pluripotency.
What is q1?Show answer
Distinguish between totipotent, pluripotent and multipotent stem cells, giving one example of each. [3 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
A research group reports that a skin biopsy from an adult patient was reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem cells, then differentiated into cardiomyocytes. Identify the level of potency at each step and justify why the final cells beat in culture. [3 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
Refer to the human respiratory system. (a) Name two specialised cells in the alveolar wall and link each to a function. (b) Place the structures bronchus, alveolus, lung, ciliated epithelial cell in order of increasing complexity.
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