Why do chromosomes coil during mitosis?

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Mitosis is the process of cell division among eukaryotic cell types.  In this type of process, the cells divide with the same or identical sets of chromosomes and other cell components. One cell, for example, will contain the same number of chromosomes as that of the other cell. Animals and humans have eukaryotic cells and go through this particular cell division process for growth, development, and/or repair.  Part of cell mitosis is the coiling up of chromosomes, and this happens for a very specific reason. Chromosomes inside the cells are packed and need some extra space to move. In order for them to move while the cell division occurs, chromosomes will then coil so as not to become entangled with the other chromosomes. In this way, the divided cells will contain exactly the identical number of chromosomes. The coiling of the chromosomes will also serve to protect themselves from damage while the division is in progress.

Mitosis is divided into different stages with the initial stage called as prophase.  It is during this stage that chromosomes will coil up.  Using a microscope, chromosomes will appear smaller because of the coiling. They would also seem to bulge and look fat as they move around the cells and start the division process.  This stage in mitosis typically lasts for about an hour.  In the case of humans, 1 cell will contain 46 chromosomes.

Mitosis is an important process when talking about cells.  The stages involved in cell division plays a significant role in growth and development.  With cell replication through division, there will be no development process. Mitosis is important in terms of cell regeneration.  There are living organisms that rely on cell generation for survival.  Cell replacement is also another process in which mitosis is needed.  This process typically occurs when a person, for example, has some illness with old cells being replaced by new ones during the recovery stage.

 

Author: erwin

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