How does a basic stem cell know what type of cell to become?

Group of answer choices

A. Stem cells are activated by hormones to start producing specific proteins of the cell they will become.

B. During puberty, a growth spurt results from many rounds of cell division.

C. Mitosis allows the stem cells to make many identical copies of themselves.

D. Red blood cells deliver oxygen to stem cells, allowing for cellular respiration to occur and ATP to be produced.

E. The basic stem cells undergo meiosis to produce 4 non identical daughter cells which can each perform their own function.

The correct option is (E). Potency and self renewal are the two major properties of the stem cells. Example include the hematopoietic stem cells are the precursor cells that eventually form the immune cells. Mesenchymal stem cells are known to differentiate during embryonic development to give rise to the fat cells.

Explanation:

The inner masses residing in the blastocyst give rise to the pluripotent cells that are specifically known as the stem cells or embryonic stem cells. These cells possess the property of self-renewal and also give rise to various types of cells. It is used in a cure to injury and construction of regenerative medicine due to its nature of plasticity and unlimited capacity to renew itself. Its other functions include its involvement in the process of DNA repair, serves as a model to study genetic disorders and also used in clinical trials. Also it undergoes asymmetric cell division that illustrates that the mother cell is identical to the stem cell and the daughter cells are different.