Could someone please define meiosis in simple terminology?

Question

Also, what is the difference between meiosis and mitosis?

Answer 1

"Meiosis reduces the number of chromosome sets from two (diploid) to one (haploid), whereas mitosis conserves the number of chromosome sets. Therefore, mitosis produces daughter cells genetically identical to their parent cell and to each other, whereas meiosis produces cells that differ genetically from their parent cell and from each other."

Answer 2

To quote simple.wikipedia.com:

"Meiosis is the splitting of sex cells (sperm in males, eggs in females) in the body of the animal."

It starts with a normal cell, and creates two sex cells (e.g. two sperm cells or two egg cells). The normal cell has the full number of chromosomes. Each of the two sex cells has half that number of chromosomes.

The difference between meiosis and mitosis is that meiosis applies to sex cells only. Mitosis applies to *all* other cells in the body.

[Tip: Wikipedia just rocks for basic questions like this. There is also a "simple" version of wikipedia. To get there using Google, type the term followed by "simple wikipedia" or "wikipedia". E.g. open Google and type:
"meiosis simple wikipedia" or
"meiosis wikipedia"
]

Answer 3

Meiosis: a process that happens only in sex cells (involving egg and sperm in humans/animals).
Mitosis: a process that happens to all body cells (eg. skin cells).

Differences are many. Main ones are basically that meiosis occurs in order to prevent doubling of our chromosomes, and it introduces genetic variability. This means that the children aren't identical to their parents (in meiosis). During meiosis, 2 divisions take place (like, metaphase I, anaphase I... metaphase II, anaphase II, etc.), and, hence, 4 daughter cells are produced; these daughter cells are NOT identical to parent cells.
Mitosis occurs in order to repair damaged cells; it also allows cells to grow. Only 1 division takes place, 2 daughter cells are produced (as diploid) when the cell divides, and these daughter cells are identical to parent cell.
Mitosis reproduces cells through asexual reproduction (think of chickens make babies) while meiosis is sexual (think of humans make babies).

Meiosis is a basic and important process in sexually reproducing eukaryotic organisms, because it produces the haploid gametes that join to produce a new individual, and provides a mechanism for genetic variability, which is important for survival of the species. Meiosis can be broken down into three fundamental events:
1) the pairing of homologous chromosomes,
2) the exchange of genetic material between homologous chromosomes by crossing over, and
3) the random segregation of homologous chromosomes into daughter nuclei.
Overall, meiosis involves one replication of the genetic material in the chromosomes, followed by two divisions of that genetic material. Therefore, the genetic material is reduced by half. The result of meiosis in a diploid cell is four haploid cells.
Visit the following links for further assitance. (Or then just type in "differences between mitosis and meiosis" in any search engine.)

Answer 4

a million. The stuff that makes up chromosomes, made out of DNA wrapped around histones 2. Scrunched up DNA 3. comparable chromosomes 4. the two halves of a chromosome 5. the mixture of two homologous chromosomes that consequences in the crossing over of genetic concepts. 6. The random sequence in meiosis is by way of random separation.

Answer 5

Ok, heres a simple way to think about it. As humans, we have 2 copies of every gene in all of our cells, we get one copy from our mother, and one from our father. Easy enough.

Now, when you tear off a piece of skin, or grow new hair, or make new blood cells, all of the DNA is still the same as all of your other cells. You just want to make another exact copy of your other cells. Therefore, you want to make an existing cell divide into 2 identical cells. They would divide mitotically, meaning both sets of DNA (1 maternal and 1 paternal) are replicated (now you have 2 maternal and 2 paternal), and when the cell splits, you end up with 2 daughter cells, each containing 1 maternal and 1 paternal copy of DNA! These 2 daughter cells are identical to the mother cell they replaced.

Mitosis works great for all cells except gametes. Why wouldn't it work for gametes? Well sexually reproducing organisms get one copy of their DNA from their mother, and one from their father. So if gametes divided mitotically, theyd all have 2 copies of DNA, and when a sperm fertilized an egg, youd have 4 copies of DNA, 2 more than normal. Therefore, MEIOSIS is a form of cell division that results in only ONE copy of DNA in daughter cells. That way, a sperm cell with one copy of DNA (paternal) will fertilize an egg cell with one copy (maternal) of DNA, and the result is a zygote with the normal amount (2 copies) of DNA. Keep in mind DNA is inherited in separate pieces called chromosomes.

Now that a zygote is formed after fertilization, all cell divisions will be MITOTIC, until the organism can form gametes.

Answer 6

meiosis is when a cell splits into to cells, with a loss of mass for both. mitosis is the splitting of the cell with no loss in mass for the cells...
meiosis is in sex cells, mitosis is not.http://www.animalgenome.org/edu/genetics/mitosis.html

Answer 7

meiosis is when cell split onle into 1/2s
this only happens to gamete cells (reproductory cells b/c when creatures reproduce 2 1/2s make 1 whole baby thats an easy way to remember it)

mitosis is division into 4s, thats full development

Answer 8

A figure of speech where something is made to seem less important than it is

Answer 9

Have you tried Webster?