Identifying the Advantages and Disadvantages of Mitosis and Meiosis (Coursework Sample)

Mitosis and Meiosis
Student’s name
Institution
Course
Instructor
Date
Mitosis and Meiosis
Stages of Mitosis (Normal Cells)
Mitosis involves a total of six stages namely interphase, prophase, prometaphase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase. Although the interphase is essentially not a component of mitotic cell division, it is nonetheless an important step since it precedes cell cycle progression. As a result, the interphase pertains to all the cellular cycle's phases other than mitotic division. The initial step of mitosis is known as prophase (Oegema, 2006). It is also the biggest stage of mitosis, during which chromatin compresses into chromosomal strands and the nuclear envelope disappears and disintegrates. The cell's centrioles near the nucleus start to divide and migrate to opposing poles of the cell (Barrett et al., 2012). The microfilaments tug on the chromosomal filaments with equivalent effect during metaphase, and the chromosomes advance to the equator of the cell. The separating of the homologous chromosomes indicates anaphase. The sister chromatids will then become the descendant nuclei's genes. Mitosis concludes in the telophase. It starts when the duplicated, paired chromosomes are split and dragged to opposing poles. The cell will then divide into two daughter cells. 
Advantages and Disadvantages of Mitosis
Mitosis is a type of normal cell division that happens in the vegetative cells of the body. The process of mitosis serves to attain the process of growth and development because it allows the body to form more cells and grow (Oegema, 2006). Besides growth, mitosis is a vital process in the healing of wounds because it allows the body to form cells to replace injured cells. As in the case of the cut, mitotic cell division allow the body to form more cells to replace the ones that were hurt during the cut (Barrett et al., 2012). This achieves the healing process. The central disadvantage of mitosis, however, is the fact that there is no crossing over of genetic material which implies there is no possibility of variation between the cells. Any bad characteristics are passed as they are.