Question: Are my cells dividing at the same rate as those on the worm cam?

Hayley Lees answered on 28 Dec 2013:

Hi Rebecca – good question!

You are made up of lots of different types of cells, just like Alison was explaining…muscle cells, heart cells, brains cells, blood cells…all of these do different jobs and so need to divide at different rates. For example, skin cells have to divide many times a day to keep on replacing damaged ones. Most brain cells don’t divide at all once the brain has developed. The rate at which your cells divide also changes depending on what stage of development you are at – if you are still an embryo, then your cells will be dividing much quicker than they are if you are 12, for example (think how many cell divisions it takes to turn a fertilised egg into a fully developed baby in just 9 months!).

So basically, some of your cells are dividing at sort of the same rate, and some of them are not. Either way, it’s pretty cool to think that the process of cell division is happening inside you as you read this! 🙂