BWD 10103

CELL BIOLOGY

LABORATORY REPORT

STUDENT NAME:

MATRICS NUMBER:

LECTURER:

TITLE OF EXPERIMENT: MITOSIS

DATE OF EXPERIMENT: 03/12/2014

DATE OF SUBMISSION:

Introduction
 There are two types of cell division: mitosis and meiosis. Most of the time when people
refer to “cell division,” they mean mitosis, the process of making new body cells. Meiosis is
the type of cell division that creates egg and sperm cells.

Mitosis is a fundamental process for life. During mitosis, a cell duplicates all of its
contents, including its chromosomes, and splits to form two identical daughter cells. Because
this process is so critical, the steps of mitosis are carefully controlled by a number of genes.
When mitosis is not regulated correctly, health problems such as cancer can result.

The other type of cell division, meiosis, ensures that humans have the same number of
chromosomes in each generation. It is a two-step process that reduces the chromosome number
by half—from 46 to 23—to form sperm and egg cells. When the sperm and egg cells unite at
conception, each contributes 23 chromosomes so the resulting embryo will have the usual 46.
Meiosis also allows genetic variation through a process of DNA shuffling while the cells are
dividing.

Objectives:

i. To study and differentiate the stage of mitosis.

ii. To learn how to prepare the slide for observing process of mitosis.

iii. To illustrate the stage of mitosis in 2D.

Results

Discussion

Why that root tip is choosen for observing mitosis?

The root tip is chosen for observing mitosis is because the root tips are easy to grow and
actively divided. Moreover, the root tips can be prepared in a way that allows them to be
flattened on microscopes slide so that the chromosomes of individual cells can be observed.
On top of that, the chromosomes can be stained to make them more easily observable.
At what phase in the cell cycle does DNA replication occurs?

DNA replication occurs in early phase of prophase which is S phase in the cell cycle.
Although the length of the S phase can vary significantly between different cell types, several
absolute controls exist that dictate when and how many times in a cell cycle DNA replication
can occur.

Conclusion

Mitosis is a fundamental process of all living things. Cells divide to produce more cells.
This is necessary for organisms that are large, because there is a limit on how big cells can be.
Mitosis is also the basis for healing wounds and fighting off invading pathogens that cause
sickness. Certain organisms lose millions of cells per day as part of their normal function.
Mitosis allows old cells to be replaced by new ones, ensuring an army of fully functioning
cells. Mitosis is a fundamental process of all living things. Cells divide to produce more cells.
This is necessary for organisms that are large, because there is a limit on how big cells can be.
Mitosis is also the basis for healing wounds and fighting off invading pathogens that cause
sickness. Certain organisms lose millions of cells per day as part of their normal function.
Mitosis allows old cells to be replaced by new ones, ensuring an army of fully functioning
cells.

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_division

http://www2.estrellamountain.edu/faculty/farabee/BIOBK/biobookmito.html

http://www.celldiv.com/

http://www.uic.edu/classes/bios/bios100/lecturesf04am/lect16.htm

http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/mitosis-and-cell-division-205