[lara (OP)]

"due to the absence of mitochondria,RBC depends upon glycolysis for
energy."can this account for its short life span??

[ROBERT]

Other cells have a much shorter life span than the RBC:-

http://www.wonderquest.com/CellsLifeSpan.htm
""
"The fully differentiated neutrophil dies within a day," says Gail Sullivan, assistant research professor of medicine at the University of Virginia Health Science Center. Neutrophils are white blood cells that find, engulf, and destroy foreign microbes.

Red blood cells, on the other hand, last longer--120 days for humans. They cannot, however, reproduce themselves. That's the price these cells pay for specialization. They must rely on another kind of cell (undifferentiated stem cells) to replace dead red blood cells.""
http://www.wonderquest.com/CellsLifeSpan.htm

[Cut Chemist]

Where are those stem cells found???

In bone marrow??  Liver???

[ROBERT]

quote:Originally posted by Cut Chemist

Where are those stem cells found???

In bone marrow??  Liver???

Both:-
" The process by which red blood cells are produced is called erythropoiesis. Erythrocytes are continuously being produced in the red bone marrow of large bones. (In the embryo, the liver is the main site of red blood cell production.) "

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_blood_cell

[Mjhavok]

I was doing a little reading and came up with this.

The Erythrocytes of nearly all vertebrates have nuclei apart from mammals and the salamander for some reason lol. In mammalian erythrocrytes the red blood cell gets energy from glycolysis and fermentation. Unlike most cells the erythrocyte doesn't have an insulin receptor and therefore glucose uptake is not regulated by insulin.