Compare and Contrast Mitosis and Meiosis Essay -- Biology

Compare and Contrast Mitosis and Meiosis Meiosis and mitosis describes the process by which cells divide, either by asexual or sexual reproduction to produce a new organism. Meiosis is a form of cell division that produces gametes in humans these are egg cells and sperms, each with reduced or halved number of chromosomes. The number of chromosomes is restored when two gametes fuse together to form a zygote. A cell with two copies of each chromosome is called diploid cell and a cell with one copy of each chromosome is called a haploid cell. Meioses produces haploid daughter cells that are genetically different from each other and from the parent cell. However, mitosis is a form of cell division that produces daughter cells identical to the parent during repair or growth. Each cell contains the same genetic code as the parent cell, it is able to do this because it has copied it’s own chromosomes prior to cell division. Meiosis consists of two divisions whilst mitosis is followed in one division; both these processes involve the stages of interphase, prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase. Meiosis allows cell variation and genetic differences between each cell whereas mitosis is an exact replication of each cell. There are three main ways meiosis produces genetic variation, this through independent assortment, crossing over and random fertilization. During the first meiotic division in prophase I the homologous chromosomes join together to form biv...