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Biology

Cells

Can cells ever change functions?

The more specialized function that a cell performs, the less likely it is for the cell to change jobs within an organism. However, there are some cells that have unspecialized functions and are able to adapt to the changing needs of the body. In mammals, a good example of cells with adapting functions would be bone marrow cells, which are responsible for producing different types of cells in the blood. Bone marrow cells produce red blood cells and five types of white blood cells. Slime molds of the kingdom Protista have cells that are capable of drastically changing their function. The cellular adaptations that can occur in slime molds allow them to change from single-celled amoebas to multicellular, reproductive spore producers.



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