Outline the stages of the cell cycle.
The cell cycle as it occurs in somatic (body) cells has two major phases. One is Interphase, in which the cell prepares for division, and the other is mitosis in which the cell replicates itself. Interphase consists of 3 other phases: in G1, the cell duplicates its organelles and grows; in S, the cell makes a copy of its genetic material; in G2, the cell's DNA begins coiling into chromosomes and the cell prepares for mytosis. Mitosis is divided into four stages, and it includes cytokinesis. The stages are Prohpase (DNA coils up into chromosomes, nuclear envelope dissolves) , Metaphase (all chromosomes line up at the center of the cell), Anaphase (the chromosomes' chromatids are pulled apart, the newly separated chromosomes go to the opposite ends of the cell) and Telophase (nuclear envelope forms around the chromosomes). This process is followed by cytokinesis in which, the plasma membrane of the cell splits into two, forming two identical cells.
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