How Does Cell Division Affect Growth?

All organisms start life as a single cell All organisms start life as a single cell. In plants and animals, the cell then begins dividing.

As living things grow and develop, most pass through several stages.

life cycle-stages that living things pass through as they grow and change

The process by which most cells divide is called mitosis.

The nucleus contains threadlike structures called chromosomes.

Before mitosis begins an exact copy of each chromosome is made.

When you scrape your knees or get a sunburn, cells in the area almost immediately begin mitosis to replace the damaged tissue.

In some animals regeneration can replace entire body parts.

Single celled organisms like yeast reproduce this way (budding).

Most multi-celled organisms reproduce by joining cells from two parent organisms.

Meiosis results in gametes which contain only half the chromosomes of body cells.

When a gamete from each parent join together, a zygote is formed. This is how half of your DNA comes from your mom and half from your dad.