The process of cell division is a very important one that can be simply defined as the process that involves the creation of new cells. There are plenty of reasons as to why cells in our bodies decide to divide and there are perhaps two main types of processes that involve cell division.
Our body consists of thousands of cells that divide for two main reasons. The first reason as to why cells divide is because of growth or repairing of cells and such a division of cells is called mitosis. The second reason as to why cells will divide is because of sexual reproduction. This process is called meiosis.
Whether the cells are being divided through mitosis or meiosis, the commonality between both processes is that nucleus of the cell which is the main functioning part of a cell splits to form two different cells where the DNA of the cell becomes different.
Let’s take a look at mitosis first:
In this mitosis process, the new cell that has been formed is considered to be the child cell of the parent. The reason why we call it the child cell is because the parent cell is responsible for supplying the child cell with the cytoplasm, the chromosomes as well as the cell membrane. Thus the child sell holds the cytoplasm, the chromosomes as well as the cell membrane of the parent cell.
Now meiosis:
In this process, the main difference that is found between meiosis and mitosis is that in meiosis, 23 chromosomes are passed from the sperm cell which then combines to form a total of 46 chromosomes with that of a zygote (the female reproduction cell).
The difference between meiosis and mitosis, the two main cell division processes is that meiosis has two main processes that form cell division and mitosis has only one. The process of cell division is a very unique process with which without, there wouldn’t be any forms of life on planet.
We as human beings depend on cell division (meiosis) to occur and transition smoothly because any error in the formation of a new cell will most likely mean that there will be certain implications with the new offspring ready to enter the world.
The process of cell division that forms a new offspring (meiosis) always occurs with the help of two individuals, at least that is what many think however, when we tend to shed more light on this subject, the ferns are the only species with which reproduction involves only one individual.
Source:
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-cell-division.htm
