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| Cell Cycle | A 4-stage process consisting of interphase, mitosis, and cytokinesis. An active eukaryotic cell will undergo these steps as it grows and divides. |
| Interphase | The portion of the cell cycle that is not accompanied by observable changes under the microscope, and includes the G1, S and G2 phases. During interphase, the cell grows (G1), replicates its DNA (S) and prepares for mitosis (G2). |
| Prophase | The first stage of cell division in both mitosis and meiosis. Beginning after interphase, DNA has already been replicated when the cell enters prophase. The main occurrences in prophase are the condensation of the chromatin and the disappearance of the nucleolus. |
| Metaphase | The second stage of mitosis in the eukaryotic cell cycle in which chromosomes align in the equator of the cell before being separated into each of the two daughter cells. |
| Anaphase | The third stage of mitosis when duplicated chromosomes are split and the newly-copied chromosomes (daughter chromatids) are moved to opposite poles of the cell. |
| Telophase | The final stage in both meiosis and mitosis in a eukaryotic cell when the nuclear envelope is re-assembled around each set of chromatids, the nucleoli reappear, and chromosomes begin to decondense back into the expanded chromatin that is present during interphase. |
| Cytokinesis | The part of the cell division process during which the cytoplasm of a single eukaryotic cell divides into two daughter cells. |
| Mitosis | A part of the cell cycle when replicated chromosomes are separated into two new nuclei. |
| Meiosis | A special type of cell division in sexually-reproducing organisms used to produce the gametes, such as sperm or egg cells. It involves two rounds of division that ultimately result in four cells with only one copy of each chromosome (haploid). |
| Binary Fission | The method of reproduction of a living prokaryotic cell by dividing the cell into two parts, each with the potential to grow to the size of the original. |
| Sexual reproduction | A type of reproduction that involves a complex life cycle in which a gamete (such as a sperm or egg cell) with a single set of chromosomes (haploid) combines with another to produce an organism composed of cells with two sets of chromosomes (diploid).[1] Sexual reproduction is the most common life cycle in multicellular eukaryotes, such as animals, fungi and plants. |
| Asexual reproduction | A type of reproduction which does not involve the fusion of gametes or change in the number of chromosomes. The offspring that arise by asexual reproduction from a single cell or from a multicellular organism inherit the genes of that parent. Asexual reproduction is the primary form of reproduction for single-celled organisms such as archaea and bacteria. Many multicellular animals, plants and fungi can also reproduce asexually. |
