• Question: How do human stem cells decide which type of cell they are going to be when the embryo is in the womb?

    Asked by Tessie to Anna, Hayley, Iain, Rebecca on 15 Jun 2015.
    • Photo: anon

      anon answered on 15 Jun 2015:

      I think this is a great question, Tessie! We have so many different kinds of cells, but how do they form and how do they become one cell rather than another? I’m not an expert on this field but as far as I know the process of cells forming and becoming is specialised is called “gene expression”. This is quite a complex process, and it’s about a very specific combination of genes that are activated or deactivated (the technical terms are “expressed” and “repressed”) for a number of reasons. Each cell develops an individual pattern of expressed and repressed genes which determines the cell’s function.

    • Photo: Anna Kutner

      Anna Kutner answered on 15 Jun 2015:

      I’m not an expert either but your question actually urged me to do a bit of research in this area. Apparently the process of specialisation is called ‘stem cell differentiation’ and can occur at various stages. It can be caused by a number of factors which can be physical (e.g. injury, temperature) or chemical in nature (e.g. secreted chemicals from neighbouring cells). Apparently stem cells have the ability to ‘communicate’ with each other to be directed to places in your body where there are most needed and develop into cells which are required. Fascinating stuff!

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