• Question: How much time does a cell take to grow?

    Asked by Alexiadepablo to Sian, Max, Lizzie, Ben on 12 Mar 2018.
    • Photo: Ben Mulhearn

      Ben Mulhearn answered on 12 Mar 2018:

      Every different cell takes a different amount of time to grow. For example, a neutrophil (the microbe-eating cells of the body) takes about a week to mature in the bone marrow before it goes into the blood.

    • Photo: Max Jamilly

      Max Jamilly answered on 12 Mar 2018:

      Cool question! It depends on the cell type and on what you mean by ‘grow’. Most cells grow according to the cell cycle, where they gradually get bigger, copy all their DNA, and then eventually divide to make two new ‘daughter’ cells. In humans, the average time to grow like this is about 24 hours. The cells I grow in the lab also take about 24 hours to double in size (which means I need to feed them every day or two). BUT your skin cells may grow much more quickly than that and some liver cells grow really, really slowly – they may take months to divide. Some cells, like nerve cells, don’t grow at all after a certain stage – which explains why some injuries involving nerve damage (like breaking your spine) can be very difficult to heal.

    • Photo: Sian Richardson

      Sian Richardson answered on 12 Mar 2018:

      It depends on the type of cell and its environment. I grow bacteria which can replicate as fast as every 20 mins. However if I lower the temperature or change the pH the cells will be less happy and grow slower

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