Part of our queries about the wonders of the world is that, “What is the story of my life?”.

We all are
different as we all can be. With each step of our journey, we continue progressing, continue moving, and
growing. Yet as we look through the bigger picture, through the lens, there is a biological phase and
background that we have to find, to suffice this query about life.

Our life started as a tiny single cell called a zygote. It began when the sperm gave the egg a package that
was full of DNA. From that zygote, which is a fertilized egg, we grew into an amazing person that we are
today. Yet how do we get from just a single cell to the present us? Our body is composed of 100 trillion
cells and millions are dividing every second. This type of cell division is called mitosis. All the cells in our
body, except for the spermatozoa or oocytes, are reproduced by mitosis. Mitosis is only 10% of the
whole cycle and the rest is called interphase. Thus, mitosis is divided into four parts namely, prophase,
metaphase, anaphase and telophase. In addition, there are reasons why there is a need for cells to
undergo mitosis. Cells need to undergo mitosis to grow in size, to replace dead cells, replace damaged
cells and to keep the number of cells in the body relatively constant.

Mitosis is just a part of the cell cycle. The cell cycle is where it all starts and where cells start to
reproduce. Cell cycle has two divisions; the interphase for growth and the other one is mitosis for
division. Just like mitosis, interphase is subdivided into different parts as well. It is made up of G1, S-
phase and G2. Each part contributed well to the cell cycle.

The cell cycle begins at G1 also known as Gap 1. It is a period of rapid growth of the cell and it duplicated
its organelles and proteins to get ready for the next steps of the cell cycle. Gap 1 is followed by the S-
phase or also known as Synthesis. It is where the DNA is synthesized. At this point of the cell cycle, the
DNA is not visible under a microscope. The DNA is still in the form of a double helix, however it is
unwound in order for the molecules that duplicated the DNA to get in close and do their job and it is too
thin to be seen. After the S-phase, now comes the G2 also known as Gap 2. It is the final stage before
mitosis begins. The cell gets bigger and larger again and makes the final proteins it needs to begin
mitosis. After the G2, the process of mitosis will begin.

The process of mitosis starts at prophase. Prophase is when the parent cell will start to swell. It
duplicated proteins and each organelle and the chromosomes form from chromatin as well. Prophase is
then followed by metaphase, where chromosomes line up at the metaphase plate and the centromeres
then connects to spindle fibers and is now ready for the next stage which is anaphase. Anaphase is
where sister chromatids go their separate ways. The centromeres pull them in opposite sides. After
anaphase, telophase comes next. Telophase is where the membrane reforms and from one cell two will
be born or it will become two daughter cells. Chromosomes unwind to form chromatin and cytokinesis
brings this to an end. Cytokinesis is the last “pinching off” of this separation.

Furthermore, since cells are not actively diving the cell cycle is not always going. Thus, the cells that are
not dividing are stuck in the resting phase of the cell cycle called G 0. The cell can remain quiescent for
long periods of time and possible indefinitely. In G 0, the cell can be either quiescent or lay dormant and
may start dividing again or senescent where the cells get old and eventually undergo apoptosis.

Additionally, there are some cells that are dividing a lot. Just like the cells that line the inside and outside
of our body. They divide a lot, especially in the living layer at the base of the skin to replenish the cells of
the skin that are lost all the time. Thus, cells that line the digestive system, particularly intestines are
also dividing rapidly. On the other hand, there are also cell that almost never divides. Example of which
are neurons that fully mature. Some neural stem cells can divide just fine however; most neurons don’t
because of three likely reasons. First is that neurons that are fully mature are highly specialized and can
be very large. Secondly, the brain responds to brain injury by “rewiring” itself, and even reallocating lost
functionality to new brain regions. Third and last is that the brain has found an alternatives in replacing
damaged neurons that’s why it does not need to have mature neurons to divide.

Another example that some cells are not dividing is the Red Blood Cells (RBC). Fully matured red blood
cells are specialized for one task and that is getting oxygen to our cells and taking carbon dioxide away
from cells. They are rather odd and unique cells since they have no nucleus, no DNA, no organelles, they
cannot make RNA and they cannot divide. Red blood cells are first form from stem cells are called
hemocytoblasts which the bone marrow makes. It is stem cells that have the ability to differentiate into
any of the cellular components of the blood. Thus, they can become red blood cells, white blood cells or
the clotting factors which is platelets. The hemocytoblasts do have a nucleus and produces enzymes and
proteins. The reason for a short life span of red blood cells of about 120 days is that when it matured
and pour into blood they lose their nuclei. So, a mature red blood cells function only until the enzyme
and protein stock in them is exhausted.

In conclusion, a journey of the story of our life is quite that long and comprehensional, if we look at the
biological phase of it and we look through science. S