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Module 5

1. Module 5

1.8. Lesson 2

Lesson 2

Module 5—Cell Division: The Processes of Mitosis and Meiosis

Lesson 2—The Cell Cycle and Cancer

 

Picture of a young boy playing in a fountain of water.

© Andrey Armyagov/shutterstock

Get Focused

 

Ponce de Leon, a Spanish explorer, spent years looking for the fountain of youth in a part of North America now called Florida. Of course, he never found it. Imagine what life would be like if there was such a fountain from which to drink! Life would be yours for hundreds of years. Alas, the reality is that human cells last only a little more than one century at best. Why do cells age? Is there a secret to keeping body cells young and vigorous that has not yet been discovered?

 

In this lesson you will also learn to identify the phases of the cell cycle. You will also learn how a normal cell regulates this cycle and how some cells can exit the cycle or may even ignore the phases.

 

cell cycle: the period between cell divisions; divided into the phases of interphase, mitosis, and cytokinesis; may also be divided into interphase and M phase (mitosis and cytokinesis)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this lesson the following focusing questions will be examined:

  • What are the phases of the cell cycle?
  • Do all cells have the same ability to reproduce, and does this change with age?
Module 5: Lesson 2 Assignment

 

Download a copy of the Module 5: Lesson 2 Assignment to your computer now. You will receive further instructions about how to complete this assignment later in the lesson.

 

You must decide what to do with the questions that are not marked by the teacher.

 

Remember that these questions provide you with the practice and feedback that you need to successfully complete this course. You should respond to all of the questions and place those answers in your course folder.