Mitosis and the cell cycle
Mitosis
Cells divide when:
- an organism grows
- an organism becomes damaged and needs to produce new cells for repair
- organisms like bacteria reproduce asexually
It is essential that any new cells produced contain genetic information that is identical to the parent cell.
A growing and dividing cell goes through a series of stages called the The events that lead to cell division and DNA replication..
The first stages of the cell cycle involve cell growth, then Made or put together. of Deoxyribonucleic acid. The material inside the nucleus of cells, carrying the genetic information of a living being.. The single strand of DNA that makes up each The structure made of DNA that codes for all the characteristics of an organism. produces an exact copy of itself. After this a period of further growth occurs and the DNA is checked for errors. A type of cell division which produces daughter cells identical to the parent. occurs after this checking has been completed. Finally the cytoplasm of the cell separates and two cells are formed.
The cell undergoes a type of cell division called mitosis. In mitosis, two cells called daughter cells are produced, each identical to the parent cell.
When looking at cells with a microscope, the length of different stages of the cell cycle can be estimated using the formula:
\(\text{Length of time in phase}=\)
\(\frac{\text{observed number of cells at that stage}}{\text{total number of cells observed}}\times\text{total length of time of cell cycle}\)
Learn more about mitosis and meiosis with Dr Alex Lathbridge.
Listen to the full series on 大象传媒 Sounds.
In this podcast, learn the key facts about mitosis and meiosis. Listen to the full series on 大象传媒 Sounds.