1.

Answer using no more than 2 sentences, What is basic difference between prognostic and
predictive biomarkers? (1.5)

- A prognostic biomarker provides information about the patients overall cancer outcome,
regardless of therapy, whilst a predictive biomarker gives information about the effect of a
therapeutic intervention.

2. How will you test an individual for "Hereditary Cancer Syndrome" and why do you think
your process will be ideal? (2) (Answer using no more than 3 sentences)

- Hereditary Cancer syndrome refers to genetic defects due to certain gene mutation
in germ-line cells that make it heredatory. Therefore, doing genetic testing for highly
susceptible individual via PCR and then next generation sequencing is a fruitful way
of screening for any germline mutation.

I think NGS is an ideal process to go about, because of its ability of analyzing mutli-gene by at a
fairly short amount of time, sequencing around 1 million to 43 billion short reads (50-400 bases each)
per instrument run, along with its chance of the low percentage of false results.

3. What is/are the difference(s) between a terminally differentiated cells and stem cells? (2)
(Answer using no more than 3 sentences)

1. Stem cells are unspecialized cells that have the ability of self-renewal and plasticity- ability to
differentiate into other type of mature cells. While terminally differentiated cells are already
specialized cells that perform specified function in the body.

2. Stem cell continue to proliferate throughout the lifetime of the organism while TDC, in the
course of acquiring specialized functions, has irreversibly lost its ability to proliferate.

3. Stem cells grow and self renew in the place they were derived while, terminally differentiated
cells (TDC) may function in distinct location. Examples of stem cell include, hematopoietic stem cell, etc.
while examples of TDC include epithelial cells, liver cells, etc.
What is the fundamental difference between a totipotent and multipotent cells? (1.5) (Answer
using no more than 2 sentences)

1. Totipotent stem cells are ones which are capable of differentiating into all types of body cells
while multipotent stem cells don't have the ability to differentiate into all cell type but only a limited
number of cells. The role of totipotent cell is to give rise to the organisms while the primary role of
multipotent stem cell in human is to maintain and repair the tissue in which they are found.

2. After fertilization, up to the 8-cell stage is referred to as totipotent while multipotent cells are
available in adult stage of the body. Examples of totipotent include, zygote while examples of
multipotent are bone marrow stem cell, heart stem cell, etc.
 1. Time for brainstorming!! Why do you think induced pluripotent stem cells can
cause cancers? (1) (Answer using two sentences)

Stem cell naturally have the ability of proliferation and differentiation, thus when an induced
pluripotent stem cell is obtained via reprogramming and transfection with four specific genes to
cause de-differentiation, it has high risk of any genetic mishap and accumulating any form of
mutation at any stage of the process, which have the risk of triggering the pluripotent stem cell
to go through uncontrolled proliferation. Also generally, stem cells survive much longer than
ordinary cells, increasing the chance that they might accumulate genetic mutations, especially
when they have gone through previous modification in case of iPSC, It might take only a few
mutations for one cell to lose control over its self-renewal and growth and become the source
of cancer.

2. "Not all stem cells are the same", what does this mean? (1) (Answer using one
sentence)

Not all stem cells are the same, they can be totipotent, pluripotent or multipotent as they differ
in their varying degrees of potency and give rise to differing mature cell types.

7. Mention one benefit of using one patient's own adult stem cell. (1)

Using one patient's own adult stem cell is crucially beneficial as it would eliminate the chance of tissue
rejection, as the own cell would not show immune reaction against its own MHCs, thus would solve the
critical problem faced in organ donation scenario.