: one of the cells of the body that compose the tissues, organs, and parts of that individual other than the germ cells
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebProfessor Wilmut just months before in 1996 had cloned a sheep from an adult somatic cell, shocking the world. Bill Frist, Forbes, 2 Aug. 2022 Dolly was the first mammal to be successfully cloned from an adult somatic cell, which is any type of bodily cell that is not a reproductive germ cell. Bill Frist, Forbes, 2 Aug. 2022 Their traditional methods deliver higher total solids in milk and low somatic cell count, which delivers higher quality milk. David Riemer, Forbes, 2 Aug. 2022 The second method is to take the egg of a surrogate animal, remove the nucleus, and join it with a Sumatran rhino's somatic cell. Jessie Yeung, CNN, 14 Aug. 2020 That finding suggested the plants were somehow eliminating harmful mutations in their somatic cells and accumulating beneficial ones for their reproductive cells. Elizabeth Pennisi, Science | AAAS, 29 Aug. 2019 If an owner decides to proceed, the pet's DNA is used to create embryos using somatic cell nuclear transfer, the same science that produced Dolly the sheep. Roxanne Roberts, Anchorage Daily News, 11 July 2019 If an owner decides to proceed, the pet’s DNA is used to create embryos using somatic cell nuclear transfer, the same science that produced Dolly the sheep. Roxanne Roberts, Washington Post, 10 July 2019 Scientists who work in genetics draw a huge distinction between editing somatic cells and editing germline cells. Jacqueline Detwiler, Popular Mechanics, 4 Dec. 2018 See More
Word History
First Known Use
1888, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
somatic cell
noun
: any of the cells of the body that compose the tissues, organs, and parts of that individual other than the germ cells