{"id":2373,"date":"2016-05-24T20:17:01","date_gmt":"2016-05-24T20:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/biologyxwaymakerxmaster\/?post_type=chapter&p=2373"},"modified":"2017-08-01T23:24:35","modified_gmt":"2017-08-01T23:24:35","slug":"why-it-matters-cell-division","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/hccs-waymakerbiology1\/chapter\/why-it-matters-cell-division\/","title":{"raw":"Why It Matters: Cell Division","rendered":"Why It Matters: Cell Division"},"content":{"raw":"

Why learn about the various stages of cell division?<\/h2>\r\nCell division is key to life: from the moment we are first conceived, we are continually\u00a0changing and growing. In order for our bodies to grow and develop, they\u00a0must produce new cells\u2014and allow for the death of old cells. Cell division is also an essential component of injury repair. If our cells couldn't divide and create new cells,\u00a0our bodies could never produce new skin cells to heal road rash, or\u00a0grow a fingernail back. However, when cell division goes awry, dramatic results may occur. Without sufficient cellular oversight, repeated rounds of unregulated cell division can lead to a minor condition like psoriasis or a life-threatening disease like cancer. Cell division takes occurs by a\u00a0strict cycle, with multiple stages and checkpoints to ensure things don't<\/em> go awry.\r\n\r\nPerhaps most importantly, without cell division, no species would be able to reproduce\u2014life would simply end (or would have ended a long time ago). Every\u00a0human, as well as every sexually reproducing organism, begins life as a fertilized egg (embryo) or zygote. Trillions of cell divisions subsequently occur in a controlled manner to produce a complex, multicellular human. In other words, that original single cell is the ancestor of every other cell in the body. Single-celled organisms use cell division as their method of reproduction.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_3926\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\"]\"Image Figure 1. A sea urchin begins life as a single cell that (a) divides to form two cells, visible by scanning electron microscopy. After four rounds of cell division, (b) there are 16 cells, as seen in this SEM image. After many rounds of cell division, the individual develops into a complex, multicellular organism, as seen in this (c) mature sea urchin. (credit a: modification of work by Evelyn Spiegel, Louisa Howard; credit b: modification of work by Evelyn Spiegel, Louisa Howard; credit c: modification of work by Marco Busdraghi; scale-bar data from Matt Russell)[\/caption]","rendered":"

Why learn about the various stages of cell division?<\/h2>\n

Cell division is key to life: from the moment we are first conceived, we are continually\u00a0changing and growing. In order for our bodies to grow and develop, they\u00a0must produce new cells\u2014and allow for the death of old cells. Cell division is also an essential component of injury repair. If our cells couldn’t divide and create new cells,\u00a0our bodies could never produce new skin cells to heal road rash, or\u00a0grow a fingernail back. However, when cell division goes awry, dramatic results may occur. Without sufficient cellular oversight, repeated rounds of unregulated cell division can lead to a minor condition like psoriasis or a life-threatening disease like cancer. Cell division takes occurs by a\u00a0strict cycle, with multiple stages and checkpoints to ensure things don’t<\/em> go awry.<\/p>\n

Perhaps most importantly, without cell division, no species would be able to reproduce\u2014life would simply end (or would have ended a long time ago). Every\u00a0human, as well as every sexually reproducing organism, begins life as a fertilized egg (embryo) or zygote. Trillions of cell divisions subsequently occur in a controlled manner to produce a complex, multicellular human. In other words, that original single cell is the ancestor of every other cell in the body. Single-celled organisms use cell division as their method of reproduction.<\/p>\n

\"Image<\/p>\n

Figure 1. A sea urchin begins life as a single cell that (a) divides to form two cells, visible by scanning electron microscopy. After four rounds of cell division, (b) there are 16 cells, as seen in this SEM image. After many rounds of cell division, the individual develops into a complex, multicellular organism, as seen in this (c) mature sea urchin. (credit a: modification of work by Evelyn Spiegel, Louisa Howard; credit b: modification of work by Evelyn Spiegel, Louisa Howard; credit c: modification of work by Marco Busdraghi; scale-bar data from Matt Russell)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t

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Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t
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