Cell Division and Cancer Biology

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the stages of mitosis, cytokinesis in plants vs. animals, cell cycle regulation, cancer types and treatments, and the basics of sexual vs. asexual reproduction.

Anaphase

The stage of mitosis where sister chromatids separate and move to opposite sides of the cell.

Telophase

The final stage of mitosis where chromosomes disappear as DNA unfolds, the nuclear envelope forms, and the mitotic spindle disappears.

Mitotic spindle

The structure made of yellow lines (microtubules) that helps move chromosomes during cell division and disappears during telophase.

Cytokinesis

The process following mitosis where the cell splits into two; it happens at the same time as telophase.

Cleavage

The method of cytokinesis in animal cells where the soft, flexible cell gets squished and pinched into two.

Cell plate

A structure formed in plant cells during cytokinesis that acts as a new wall since the existing cell wall is stiff and cannot bend.

Mitosis without cytokinesis

A process resulting in a large cell with multiple nuclei, such as human muscle cells with $20$ nuclei or slime molds with $50$ nuclei.

Growth hormone

A chemical signal that cells receive to trigger mitosis and cell division; it is used medically to help babies grow at a normal speed.

$G_{1}$ checkpoint

A regulatory traffic light in the cell cycle that either tells the cell to stop or to go forward toward the $S$ phase and DNA duplication.

$M$ checkpoint

A checkpoint at the end of metaphase that ensures every chromosome has two microtubules attached before anaphase starts.

$G_{0}$ phase

A 'parking lot' state where cells that never go beyond the $G_{1}$ checkpoint, such as adult nerve and muscle cells, stay for the rest of their lives.

Tumor

A mass of broken cells that divide out of control due to a malfunction in the cell cycle.

Metastasis

The process where cancer cells lose their stickiness, separate from their neighbors, and travel through lymph or blood vessels to grow new tumors in other parts of the body.

Biopsy

A procedure where a piece of a tumor is removed and examined by a pathologist to determine the original type of cancer cells.

Chemotherapy

A cancer treatment that uses drugs to kill cells going through mitosis by blocking the division process.

Radiation therapy

A treatment that uses high energy radiation to destroy the DNA of cancer cells, causing them to die.

Immunotherapy

A cancer treatment that trains the immune system to recognize tumor cells as non-self ancestors and destroy them.

Carcinoma

Cancers that affect body coverings, such as skin cancer.

Sarcoma

Cancers that affect tissues that support the body, such as bone cancer.

Leukemia and Lymphoma

Cancers that affect the tissues that make blood cells, often treated with bone marrow transplants.

Asexual reproduction

A form of reproduction without sex or combined DNA, where a baby is genetically identical to the parent, as seen in the Hydra.

$$46$$

The total number of chromosomes in a healthy human baby, formed by the combination of $23$ chromosomes from a sperm and $23$ from an egg.

Homologous chromosomes

Pairs of chromosomes that have the same genes (such as the blood type gene) but are not identical because they may carry different versions of those genes.