STEM CELLS

Watch the video WHAT IS A STEM CELL?  and answer the following questions (WORKSHEET):

(NOTE: USE THE SUBTITLE OPTION FOR BETTER UNDERSTANDING)

All stem cells share two basics characteristics.

1. : 
2. :

Watch this TED-ed video on STEM CELLS and answer the following questions:

(NOTE: USE THE SUBTITLE OPTION FOR BETTER UNDERSTANDING)

A stem cell is…

1. A cell taken from an embryo that can become any kind of cell type in the body
2. A cell taken from your intestines that can become any kind of tissue in the body
3. A kind of cell that can only become other kinds of similar cells
4. Any kind of cell that is undifferentiated and can divide to make new cells

An undifferentiated cell is…

1. A kind of stem cell
2. A cell without characteristics specific to a kind of tissue
3. Another term for a tissue-specific stem cell
4. Another term for a pluripotent stem cell

Using stem cells to replace damaged bodily tissue is called…

1. Regenerative medicine
2. Cloning
3. Genetic engineering
4. Gene splicing

Stem cells can be classified in three categories..

1. :
2. :
3. :

Adult stem cells are…

1. Created from genetically-altered mature bodily cells
2. Created from embryos
3. Found in your body right now
4. All of the above

Pluripotent stem cells are different from tissue-specific adult stem cells in what way?

1. They are not available for use with humans
2. They cannot be used in treatments for adults
3. They can only become a few kinds of cells in the body
4. They can become any kind of cell type in the body

How are stem cells used to treat leukemia?


What other diseases might be treatable in this way?

What is the source of embryos used for embryonic stem cell research?


What would have been the outcome for these cells had they not been used for research?


How might induced pluripotent stem cells change 

How stem cell research is conducted?

DIG DEEPER

Follow this presentation and learn more about the origin of stem cells in our bodies
Activity
Transcribe the content of the presentation, including the most relevant images. After that, translate it into Spanish and, finally, try to present it yourself in Spanish using this screencast program

If you want to know more, please watch this award-winning documentary on stem cells.

IF YOU PREFER SOMETHING IN SPANISH TRY THIS WONDERFUL TVE PROGRAM ABOUT STEM CELLS: tres14-stemcells

Vocabulary:

General vocabulary

Odds: the probability that something is so or that it is more likely to occur than something else, expressed as a number.
Healthcare: the field or industry concerned with supplying services, equipment, and information related to maintaining and restoring physical and mental health.
Similarity: showing resemblance in qualities, characteristics, or appearance; alike but not identical
To research: to investigate or look into something carefully
To replace: to provide a substitute or equivalent for
To wear out (pp. worn-out): having no more energy or strength; exhausted.
To damage: to cause harm, injury, or destruction to
Disease: illness; sickness
Injury: harm, damage
To grow: to increase gradually in size, amount, etc.; expand
Leftover: anything left or remaining from a larger amount.
To behave: to act or react in a particular way

Expressions

Such as...

Specific vocabulary:

Stem cells:

Zygote:
Embryo:
Differentiated / undifferentiated:

Leukemia:
Bone marrow:
Pluripotent:
Multipotent:

Cell structure

Because most cells are too small to be seen by the naked eye, the study of cells has depended heavily on the use of microscopes. In the following link you can discover how to use a light microscope:


In this activity we will revise the funcion of the most important organelles present in eukaryotic cells.

Try to identify the organelles that appears in this amazing 3d video

If you want to know more, explore this video on animal cells

Let's have some fun with this cell's rap

Word Food Day 2014 - Lab-grown meat

Pre-reading

Vocabulary

Petri dish:A Petri dish (sometimes spelled "Petrie dish" and alternatively known as a Petri plate or cell-culture dish), named after the German bacteriologist Julius Richard Petri, is a shallow cylindrical glass or plastic lidded dish that biologists use to culture cells – for examplebacteria – or small mosses.

Tissue: A tissue is an ensemble of similar cells from the same origin that together carry out a specific function.


To grow: to increase gradually in size, amount, etc.; expand

To culture: to grow (microorganisms/cells) in a culture medium

Minced meat: meat that has been minced or ground

Scaffold:  an artificial structure capable of supporting three-dimensional tissue formation.

Reading

Read the following article and discuss about the new alternative in meat production

Post-reading

The following questions could help the discussion.

• Could you describe the process of lab-grown meat? What kind of cells can be used as a source for lab-meat?
• What advantadges lab-grown meat have over  regular meat?

• Regarding to enviromental issues
• Regarding to nutritional issues
• Would you eat this kind of meat? Why/Why not?
• Do you think lab-grown meat is tasty?

If you want to know more read another opinions on this subject.