Describe the basic stages of mitosis.

Cell division, or mitosis, occurs in diploid cells (cells with two copies of every chromosome). During mitosis, a cell will divide and produce two daughter cells which are also diploid. These two daughter cells have identical copies of eachothers DNA. Mitosis happens in pThe first stage of mitosis is Interphase. Interphase is the cell stage that the cell spends the majority of its life cycle in, the DNA is not condensed. The second phase is prophase: the chromosomes replicate, condense and become visible as sister chromatids. The nucleolus begins to disappear, which releases the now visible chromosomes into the cell. At a similar time, the mitotic spindle begins to form; this has a key role later on in the mitotic stages. Metaphase occurs next, the chromosomes line up in the centre of the cell, and the spindle fibres attach to the centromere of each sister chromatid. Anaphase comes next: the spindle fibres pulls each chromosome to their end of the cell which seperates the sister chromatids. This means that each half of the cell will have the exact same genetic information as the other. Telophase is the final stage of the cell before it enter interphase once more. The cell prepares itself to divide and replicates its proteins and general content. Cell membranes begin to form between each cell and the chromosomes decondense. Two nuclear membranes appear around the newly created nucleoli. The mitotic spindles disappear.