• Question: Whats the most important cell

    Asked by 574cesk37 to Tom, Paul, Natasha, Ildiko, Ester, Eoin on 14 Nov 2017.
    • Photo: Eoin McKinney

      Eoin McKinney answered on 14 Nov 2017:

      arguably, the stem cell. This keeps all the other cells going as it can change into any of them it if needs to. If cells get injured or old, then stem cells can divide and turn into new ones to repair the tissue. Very clever…. but also potentially dangerous. If stem cells go wrong they can easily turn into cancer cells. I guess that makes them even more important, though!

    • Photo: Natasha Myhill

      Natasha Myhill answered on 14 Nov 2017:

      Eoin’s answer is good but I couldnt be an immunologist and not say immune! These are cells in the immune system that sort of act like bodyguards.There are different types of white blood cells – some help with clearing up a wound or injury straight away to try and fix the wound and get rid of any bacteria that might have infected it. Some others are involved in patrolling the body looking for bad bacteria or infected cells. Without thes cells we would be ill all the time!

    • Photo: Paul McKeegan

      Paul McKeegan answered on 14 Nov 2017:

      Those are both very convincing arguments, but the correct answer has to be the egg cell! It contains everything you need to make an animal. DNA, mitochondria, energy stores. All you need to add is half a genome, which you usually get from sperm but you can even take a nucleus from another cell, put it into the egg, zap it gently with electricity and boom – you’ve made a clone. (This is much harder than I’m making it sound!)
      Of course, you can’t actually grow an egg beyond the first few days without a healthy organism to carry it, with all of the other cells of the body required to function correctly…

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