AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Cell differentiation describes the process of specialization leading to the formation of brain, heart, and all other tissues from the single-cell zygote and the primitive, three-layered embryo.

Detailed explanation-2: -Listen to pronunciation. (sel DIH-feh-REN-shee-AY-shun) The process during which young, immature (unspecialized) cells take on individual characteristics and reach their mature (specialized) form and function.

Detailed explanation-3: -Under the right conditions in the body or a laboratory, stem cells divide to form more cells called daughter cells. These daughter cells become either new stem cells or specialized cells (differentiation) with a more specific function, such as blood cells, brain cells, heart muscle cells or bone cells.

Detailed explanation-4: -Cell differentiation is how generic embryonic cells become specialized cells. This occurs through a process called gene expression. Gene expression is the specific combination of genes that are turned on or off (expressed or repressed), and this is what dictates how a cell functions.

Detailed explanation-5: -The answer lies in the way each cell deploys its genome. In other words, the particular combination of genes that are turned on (expressed) or turned off (repressed) dictates cellular morphology (shape) and function.