NSES Content Standard C  Life Science: The cell Grades 9-12, page 184 Cells can differentiate, and complex multicellular organisms are formed as a highly organized arrangement of differentiated cells. In the development of these multicellular organisms, the progeny from a single cell form an embryo in which the cells multiply and differentiate to form the many specialized cells, tissues and organs that comprise the final organism. This differentiation is regulated through the expression of different genes.

 
Benchmark 5B The Living Environment: Heredity
Grades 9-12, page 109
The many body cells in an individual can be very different from one another, even though they are all descended from a single cell and thus have essentially identical genetic instructions. Different parts of the instructions are used in different types of cells, influenced by the cell's environment and past history.

Benchmark 5C The Living Environment: Cells
Grades 9-12, page 113
Within the cell are specialized parts for the transport of materials, energy capture and release, protein building, waste disposal, information feedback, and even movement. In addition to these basic cellular functions common to all cells, most cells in multicellular organisms perform some special functions that others do not.

Benchmark 6B The Human Organism: Human Development
Grades 6-8, page 133
Following fertilization, cell division produces a small cluster of cells that then differentiate by appearance and function to form the basic tissues of an embryo. During the first three months of pregnancy, organs begin to form. During the second three months, all organs and body features develop. During the last three months, the organs and features mature enough to function well after birth. Patterns of human development are similar to those of other vertebrates.

Benchmark 6B The Human Organism: Human Development
Grades 9-12, page 134
As successive generations of an embryo's cells form by division, small differences in their immediate environments cause them to develop slightly differently, by activating or inactivating different parts of the DNA information.