• Question: During telophase when new daughter cells from how do they know what type of cell they will become?

    Asked by david7 to Susana on 20 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Susana Teixeira

      Susana Teixeira answered on 20 Jun 2013:

      The information they need is in the DNA. The daughter cells contain proteins that “read” the DNA so they can make more proteins and control the activity of the cell so it can become of a specific type. Which parts of the DNA get copied and which parts are read is something that proteins also control.
      How do they then know what to do, and when? It’s a very complicated process but cells send signals (chemicals) to other cells, so that they can act as a coordinated organism and agree which for example become a liver, others a spine, etc.

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