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Topic last updated: 25 Oct 2021

- Biology
- 14-16
- 16+
- 55

Genes and inheritance

of 9

DNA replication and mitosis

How a cell divides - mitosis

Mitosis is the process by which a cell divides to produce two identical daughter cells, also known as clones.

Firstly, every chromosome makes a copy of itself and each new pair is then called a pair of sister chromatids. The process of copying the DNA within a cell is known as DNA replication.

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Then the membrane of the nucleus dissolves so that the chromatids spill out into the rest of the cell.
They then line up across the middle of the cell and the sister chromatids are pulled apart to opposite ends of the cell.
Now they are called chromosomes again and each set becomes enclosed in a new nuclear membrane.
Eventually the mother cell splits into two giving rise to two daughter cells each with the same set of chromosomes as the original cell.

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