Hypothesis: Observe the cells located in the tip of an onion root and identify at what stage of cell division the cells are. Introduction: Prevost and Dumas (1824) were the first to propose cell division, when they described cell division. division into fertilized frog eggs. In 1858, Rudolf Virchow popularized the epigram one-omnis cellulae cellula (“Every cell arises from another cell existing like it”). Strasburger in 1873 found this epigram true, as he and Flemming discovered that new nuclei were developed from pre-existing nuclei. The term mistosis was used to describe this process by Flemming in 1882 (Tan 2006). Cell division is necessary for the growth, maturation and maintenance of an organism's tissues. Division of an individual cell produces a pair of daughter cells, each a fractional size of the primary cell. Before dividing, each of the daughter cells will mature to the size of the original cell. Once development is complete, cell division continues because it is essential for survival. For cell division to be productive, the genetic material and the nucleus must be precisely matched and one copy must be distributed to each daughter cell. Copying the genetic information of cells is called DNA replication, nuclear division is called mitosis. Throughout the mitotic (M) phase, the cell must undergo mitosis, a process that separates a cell's duplicated chromosomes into two identical nuclei. It then divides to form two new respective cells during cytokinesis. Mitosis occurs only in eukaryotic cells and the process differs between groups (Raikov, 1994). Mitosis is divided into distinct stages. Cells spend a small part of their time dividing. Somatic cells spend most of their functional life in a state called interphase. ...... middle of paper ...... visible. The prophase chromosomes coil so tightly that they become visible as individual structures. Metaphase chromatids move toward a narrow central area called the metaphase plate. Metaphase ends when all chromatids are aligned in the plane of the metaphase plate. Anaphase The centromere of each pair of chromatids divides and the chromatids separate. Daughter chromosomes are pulled toward opposite ends of the cell along chromosomal microtubules. Anaphase ends when the daughter chromosomes arrive near the centrioles at opposite ends of the cell. Telophase During telophase, each cell prepares to return to the interphase state. Nuclear membranes form, nuclei enlarge, chromosomes relax and thin chromatin filaments become visible, nucleoli reform and nuclei resemble those of interphase cells. This stage marks the end of mitosis