It’s easy to confuse these 3 terms! Let’s try to clear things up here. Chromatin is basically a long strand of DNA, coiled around proteins. This sort of structure allows DNA that is really, really long (up to 2m!) fit into a tiny nucleus of a cell (only 5um). During cell division (S phase), this [...]
Cytokinesis is the final stage in the cell cycle. The cytoplasm of the dividing cell is separated in two. The way this happens is different for animal and plant cells. In animal cells, the cell forms a contractile ring in the middle of the dividing cell. As the ring contracts, it creates a cleavage furrow, [...]
Cells spend most of their time (90%) in interphase. However, they are not just “resting”, but preparing for the next division. The first part of interphase, the G1 phase (Gap 1), is the period during which cells are growing, synthesizing proteins and making more organelles. Cells need to double their organelles and size before dividing, [...]
Cell Theory states that cells come from pre-existing cells. What does this mean? Our body is made up of billions of cells, and all of them originate from only TWO basic cells – the sperm and egg. To get from 2 cells to a billion, these 2 cells divide many many MANY times. A lot [...]
