Mitosis
The process of cell division that produces two genetically identical daughter cells from a single parent cell. The mechanism by which organisms grow and repair tissue.
Used in the Books
This term appears in 3 chapters:
"That's millions of cells every second. Right now, while you're reading this, millions of your cells are dividing through mitosis (the process where one cell becomes two identical cells), millions are dying (apoptosis), and millions more are becoming specialized for specific fun..."
"Cells don't gradually expand like balloons inflating. They grow by splitting in half - a process called mitosis that transforms one cell into two identical daughter cells. Here's what actually happens: The cell duplicates all its chromosomes (the instruction m..."
"...that's critical for understanding organizational strategy: meiosis. Meiosis: Creating Diversity Through Recombination Most cells divide through mitosis - copying the genome and splitting into two identical cells. But sex cells (sperm and eggs) are created through meiosis, a specialized division that ..."
Biological Context
Mitosis has distinct phases: prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase. Checkpoints ensure chromosomes are properly copied and aligned before division proceeds. Cancer often involves mitosis escaping normal controls. An adult human body performs millions of mitotic divisions daily.
Business Application
Organizational mitosis: when teams or business units divide to form two functional units. Like biological mitosis, successful division requires that critical capabilities (DNA) are fully replicated in both units before separation.