What is the process called when a cell divides into two daughter cells?

The correct answer is mitosis, which is the process that enables a single cell to divide and produce two identical daughter cells, each containing the same genetic material as the original cell. This process is crucial for growth, repair, and overall maintenance of an organism. Mitosis involves a series of well-defined stages — prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase — that facilitate the accurate distribution of duplicated chromosomes to the daughter cells.

Understanding the significance of mitosis is essential in fields such as cosmetology, where knowledge of cell growth and turnover can impact practices related to skin, hair, and nail treatments. Mitosis is fundamental in the formation of new cells, which replaces damaged or dead cells in the body.

In contrast, meiosis is a specialized form of cell division that occurs only in the production of gametes for sexual reproduction, resulting in cells that have half the number of chromosomes. Binary fission is primarily seen in prokaryotic organisms, such as bacteria, where the cell simply splits into two, but it does not apply to eukaryotic cell division as in mitosis. Replication refers to the process by which DNA is copied prior to cell division, but it does not describe the division itself