Observe a single mature cell splitting into two duplicate daughter cells

Learn about cell division in the developing embryo and in mature cells.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Observe a single mature cell splitting into two duplicate daughter cells
Learn about the similarities and differences between eukaryote and prokaryote cells
Consider how the invention of the microscope abetted the discovery and categorization of cells
Witness a living plant cell's chromosomes carrying genetic material duplicate during the process of mitosis
Understand the importance and role of chloroplasts, chlorophyll, grana, thylakoid membranes, and stroma in photosynthesis
Study how bacteriophages replicate by injecting nucleic acid into a bacteria cell to create virions
Discover how the human endocrine system disperses hormones from glands through the bloodstream
See time-lapse microphotography of blastomeres created by mitotic cleavage of embryonic cells
Study the interdependence of a cell's nucleus, ribosomes, endoplasmic reticulum, and Golgi apparatus

Transcript

NARRATOR: This animation shows cell division in abstract: A single mature cell divides into two daughter cells by duplicating, then splitting its internal parts.

Here, seen through a microscope, a blastocyst undergoes several generations of cell division. Each cell divides in two with each generation. Thus, the blastocyst may become more complex quickly.