Mitosis
Mitosis is the part of the cell cycle during which the cell divides, forming two genetically identical
cells.
Mitosis is a daily event in skin, hair, and mucous membranes.
Here is one chromosome, composed of double-stranded DNA. I’ve colored it blue to indicate it came
from the organism’s father. Here is its partner, colored in pink to show you it came from the
organism’s mother. Here is another pair of chromosomes. So altogether here I’ve drawn 4
chromosomes: homologous chromosome pair 1; and homologous chromosome pair 2. You can, in an
extremely simplified concept, think of homologous pairs as having a “back up” copy in case of
mutations, as well as providing great variety in our appearance, metabolism, and health. Humans
have 46 strands of DNA in each cell - these 46 chromosomes are organized in 23 homologous pairs.
That would take too much space to draw, so to teach you mitosis, I will use a cell with 4
chromosomes organized into 2 homologous pairs.
Mitosis is the part of the cell cycle during which the cell divides, forming two genetically identical
cells.
Mitosis is a daily event in skin, hair, and mucous membranes.
Here is one chromosome, composed of double-stranded DNA. I’ve colored it blue to indicate it came
from the organism’s father. Here is its partner, colored in pink to show you it came from the
organism’s mother. Here is another pair of chromosomes. So altogether here I’ve drawn 4
chromosomes: homologous chromosome pair 1; and homologous chromosome pair 2. You can, in an
extremely simplified concept, think of homologous pairs as having a “back up” copy in case of
mutations, as well as providing great variety in our appearance, metabolism, and health. Humans
have 46 strands of DNA in each cell - these 46 chromosomes are organized in 23 homologous pairs.
That would take too much space to draw, so to teach you mitosis, I will use a cell with 4
chromosomes organized into 2 homologous pairs.
