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Home Q & A Board Biology-Related Homework Help Genetics and Developmental Biology
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rjframe rjframe
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11 years ago
also, explain your answer.
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#1
11 years ago
Early embryonic stem cells are totipotent - that is, they can differentiate into all kinds of cells.
That's why if the first 2 cells separate (or maybe even 4), each one can become a complete human being.  

But later cells in the embryo can only become several kinds of cells, and may be called pluripotent.  

But then adult stem cells are only capable of becoming specific cells, usually only one type.
For example, stem cells in a muscle can differentiate into muscle cells only.
wrote...
#2
11 years ago
That depends on the type of stem cell.  Embryonic stem cells are often totipotent (they'd have to be, to create a human), whereas bone marrow cells can only become a very limited set of cell types.
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