

They then coil up, and each chromosome looks like a letter X in the nucleus of the cell.
#When are chromosomes copied full
It is important that the daughter cells have a copy of every chromosome, so the process involves copying the chromosomes first and then carefully separating the copies to give each new cell a full set.īefore mitosis, the chromosomes are copied. In mitosis a cell divides to form two identical daughter cells. Mitosis produces new cells, and replaces cells that are old, lost or damaged. It plays an important part in the development of embryos, and it is important for the growth and development of our bodies as well. Mitosis is a way of making more cells that are genetically the same as the parent cell. This cell then divided and divided to make more cells through a process called mitosis. But you started life as a single cell - a fertilised egg cell. Your body contains trillions of cells (thousands of millions). The cell copies - or 'replicates' - its chromosomes, and then splits the copied chromosomes equally to make sure that each daughter cell has a full set. Mitosis is used to produce daughter cells that are genetically identical to the parent cells. Mitosis and meiosisĬells divide into two different ways to make new cells.

Cells that are not dividing leave the cell cycle and stay in G0. The period between cell divisions is known as 'interphase'. The cell separates the copied chromosomes to form two full sets (mitosis) and the cell divides into two new cells (cytokinesis). The cell checks the duplicated chromosomes and gets ready to divide. Each chromosome now consists of two sister chromatids. The cell makes copies of its chromosomes. The cells grow, copy their chromosomes, and then divide to form new cells. Living cells go through a series of stages known as the cell cycle.
