• Question: how do cell come togeather to form an object

    Asked by 11mstock to Callum, Gina, Katie, Michelle, Sam on 15 Nov 2012.
    • Photo: Michelle Linterman

      Michelle Linterman answered on 15 Nov 2012:

      Hi 11mstock, great question! A tough one too! There are many different ways that cells can form an object. Most of this occurs very early in life, for example with humans most happens when the baby is in the womb of the mother, called an embryo.

      One example which I think is really cool is how cells form the shape of a hand in a embryo. What happens is a group of cells divide to make a shape that looks a bit like a club, then, somehow, the cells in between the fingers just start to die off, leaving 4 fingers and a thumb. If this doesn’t work properly then you can get webbed fingers.

      I hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions.

      Michelle

    • Photo: Callum Johnston

      Callum Johnston answered on 16 Nov 2012:

      Yeh that is a tough question!

      Most of the time one cell divides into two and then those two divide into four and so on and so on. So the cells are already grouped together but they then start sending signals to each other to work out where they are in the bundle compared to one another. So, for example, when a human embryo is developing the cells on the outside will start to make skin cells and the ones on the inside will start making the organs.

      This all depends on switching on certain genes and switching other ones off so that the cell makes itself have the right shape and function for where it is in the body.

    • Photo: Katie Howe

      Katie Howe answered on 16 Nov 2012:

      Hi!

      This is a really interesting topic! In human development there starts off with just one cell called the zygote. This divides again and again until a ball of cells forms. Different parts of this ball of cells then start to decide which part of the body they will become. So usually the cells do not come together but are already in a big ball.

      But the earliest form of life was thought to be a single celled organism a bit like algae. So at some point these single cells must have come together into a more complicated structure. Scientists think that about two million years ago these single cells started clumping together and developed into an organism with many cells. These cells then started working together – for example they all had long tails to help them move around so they made their tails all face the same way so they could swim better!

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