BIOL 1001 Chapter : Stem Cells
Document Summary
On average, a man between puberty and 30 years produces ~300,000,000 new sperm/day and continue to produce sperm throughout his life. Scientists previously believed that females are born with all the follicles (immature eggs) she will have in her lifetime: ~2,000,000. Something to consider: [sperm] are the haploid half of your life cycle so be careful where you leave them. Only about 400 follicles make it to maturity (then called eggs) and have the chance of being fertilized. All stem cells - regardless of their source and location - have 3 general properties: They are capable of dividing and renewing themselves for long periods. They can give rise to specialized cell types. Embryonic stem cells are derived from an embryo. Can produce any type of differentiated cell in the body. The stem cells originate from a blastocyst an early stage embryo that is approximately 4 to 5 days old in humans and consisting of 50 150 cells.
