Question 1

What is the potency of adult bone marrow stem cells?

  A  

multipotent

  B  

pluripotent

  C  

totipotent

  D  

unipotent

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Question 2

Some stem cells divide and give rise to phagocytes.

Where in the human body do these stem cells divide?

1 - blood

2 - bone marrow

3 - lymph nodes

  A  

1, 2, and 3

  B  

1 and 3 only

  C  

2 only

  D  

3 only

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Question 3

Which feature of stem cells enables them to replace cells in tissues such as the skin?

  A  

they are undifferentiated cells that are present at birth


  B  

they differentiate to form skin cells

  C  

they divide by mitosis to supply some cells that can differentiate

  D  

they have the full number of chromosomes

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Question 4

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are stem cells found in human wisdom teeth.

MSCs can differentiate into three cell types: chondrocytes, osteoblasts, and adipocytes.

To which category of stem cells do MSCs belong?

  A  

pluripotent

  B  

multipotent

  C  

totipotent

  D  

unipotent

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Question 5

Embryonic stem cells can be used in cell replacement therapies.

Embryonic stem cells can differentiate into any type of body cell but cannot form a whole organism.

What is the type of stem cell being described?

  A  

pluripotent

  B  

totipotent

  C  

unipotent

  D  

multipotent


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Question 6

Which statement is not true about adult stem cells?

  A  

they are found in bone marrow


  B  

they are not specialised


  C  

they are totipotent

  D  

they can be used as a renewing source of undifferentiated cells

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Question 7

Which statement correctly explains why meristems can differentiate into xylem vessels in plant stems?

  A  

meristems are living and unspecialised

  B  

meristems are living and specialised

  C  

xylem vessels are dead and specialised


  D  

xylem vessels are dead and unspecialised


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Question 8

Several cell types develop from haematopoetic stem cells in the bone narrow.

Which statement correctly describes haematopoetic stem cells?

  A  

they are neither pluripotent nor multipotent

  B  

they are pluripotent but not multipotent

  C  

they are both pluripotent and multipotent

  D  

they are multipotent but not pluripotent

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Question 9

Rheumatoid arthritis is a long-term condition that causes pain, swelling, and stiffness in the joints.

What explains why stem cells are a potential source of treatment for rheumatoid arthritis?

  A  

stem cells can be harvested from the umbilical cords of newborn babies

  B  

stem cells are cheaper than other drug-based therapies

  C  

stem cells allow regeneration of a variety of tissue types


  D  

stem cells can be obtained from embryos without any ethical concerns

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Question 10

Laboratory mice whose p53 genes had been switched off developed tumours.

When their p53 genes were switched on again, the tumour cells stopped dividing and died within a few days. Healthy cells in the mice were unaffected.

What do these observations suggest?

  A  

p53 protein speeds up the mitotic cell cycle


  B  

p53 protein causes all cells to die

  C  

the p53 gene acts as a tumour suppressor gene

  D  

the p53 gene encourages the growth of tumours

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Question 11

What can directly cause the production of abnormally high quantities of the growth factors that activate DNA replication genes?

  A  

oncogene

  B  

proto-oncogene


  C  

tumour suppressor gene

  D  

mutagen

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Question 12

The statements below relate to the epigenetic regulation of gene expression.

Which statement(s) is/are correct?

1 - methylation of DNA prevents gene transcription

2 - the most common base to undergo methylation is guanine

3 - acetylation of histone proteins causes DNA to become less accessible to transcription factors

  A  

1, 2, and 3 are correct

  B  

only 1 and 2 are correct


  C  

only 2 and 3 are correct


  D  

only 1 is correct

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