Sci 230

Post a 200- to 300-word response explaining why the process of mitosis and meiosis are both important to a living organism. When would an organism need to undergo the process of mitosis and meiosis? What would happen if meiosis did not occur? I found three interesting websites to get information on cells and the phases that occur. I also “binged” the words and compiled this response from all of them plus my readings assigned.

Cells are constantly dying and need a way to replace them with new ones. Mitosis is the cycle of dividing and forming of new cells from cells currently in existence. The production of eggs and sperm, aka gametes, is the process of Meiosis. If either of these processes, Meiosis or Mitosis, did not occur, cells would die from the lack of evolution and reproduction. Also, mitosis involves the cellular respiration necessary for organisms to breathe, so they would die without mitosis.
The steps of Mitosis are:
-Prophase: when chromosomes “coil” up and are visible during this time
-Metaphase: the chromosomes move toward the center of the cell
-Anaphase: the chromatids are pulled apart
-Telophase: a nuclear envelope is formed around the chromosomes
This is the process of the cells diving, Mitosis.
The process of mitosis is important because when it occurs, the new cells contain the exact genetic information from the original cell it was divided from.

During Meiosis, there is also a process similar to cell division, except eggs and/or sperm chromosomes are halved during Meiosis. Meiosis and Mitosis are similar but during Meiosis, the process occurs twice. Spermatogenesis is the process of meiosis in males and the male ends up with 4 sperm from one original sperm. Differently, during Meiosis in females, they end up with 4 eggs, but three of the eggs die because they lack cytoplasm or they are too small. This is called oogenesis. Meiosis is important because without it, organisms could not reproduce. Thereby, all organisms would die off.