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Totipotent cells
Totipotent cells Stem cells that have unlimited developmental capability. The totipotent cells of the very early embryo (an embryo prior to the blastocyst stage) have the capacity to differentiate into extraembryonic tissues, membranes, the embryo, and all postembryonic tissues and organs.
RELATED TERMS--------------------------------------
Embryo
The early stages of development before an organism becomes self supporting.
Blastocyst
The developmental stage of the fertilized ovum by the time it is ready to implant; formed from the morula and consists of an inner cell mass, an internal cavity, and an outer layer of cells (the trophoblast).
Differentiate
The process cells undergo as they mature into normal cells. Differentiated cells have distinctive characteristics, perform specific functions, and are less likely to divide. See dedifferentiate, undifferentiated.
Membranes
Also know as the bag of waters, this thin sac contains the amniotic fluid and the fetus. The membranes will either rupture spontaneously during labor or be ruptured to speed up labor.
SIMILAR TERMS--------------------------------------
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Tube feeding
A way to provide food through a tube placed in the nose, the stomach, or the small intestine. A tube in the nose is called a nasogastric or nasoenteral tube. A tube that goes through the skin into the stomach is called a gastrostomy or percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG). A tube into the small intestine is called a jejunostomy or percutaneous endoscopic jejunostomy (PEJ) tube. Also called enteral nutrition.
Tyrosine
The amino acid from which dopamine is made.
Telomerase
An enzyme composed of a catalytic protein component and an RNA template and that synthesizes the telomeric DNA at the ends of chromosomes. When active, telomerase can continually add to the length of the telomeres on the ends of chromosomes within a cell, thus conferring on that cell the ability to continue dividing past its normal lifespan.
Telomeres
"Caps" (made of repeated DNA sequences) found at the ends of chromosomes that protect the ends of the chromosomes from degradation. The telomeres on a chromosome shorten with each round of cell replication. Telomere shortening has been suggested to be a "clock" that regulates how many times an individual cell can divide (that is, when the telomeres of the chromosomes in a cell shorten past a particular point, the cell can no longer divide).
Tissue culture
See culture.
Totipotent cells
Transcription
Making an RNA copy from a gene or other DNA sequence. Transcription is the first step in gene expression.
Transformation
A genetic process resulting in a heritable alteration of the properties of a cell. In the case of cultured cells, transformation often refers to the acquisition of new properties, such as unlimited culture lifespan.
Translation
The process of forming a protein molecule from information contained in messenger RNA.
Trophectoderm
The outer layer of the developing blastocyst that will ultimately form the embryonic side of the placenta.
Tay-Sachs disease
A genetic disorder carried by an estimated one in 30 Eastern European Jews; babies born with Tay-Sachs lack an essential enzyme and die in early childhood. A preconception test can determine whether potential parents are carriers of the disease.
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