Trouble through Mitosis
By: Nicolas Gomez and Sebastian Eusse
The purpose of this lab was to identify the differences of mitosis and cancer
by using viewers and microscopes and by looking images of the stages of
mitosis threw a viewer and by identifying the different stages of mitosis by
looking an onion root threw microscope. Another purpose was to practice
using viewers and microscopes in order to identify the different steps of
mitosis. It also helped us improve our knowledge about cancer.
The lab has three parts that must be done in order to complete the lab.
1. Step 1. We took a viewer; we put the slide and prepared the viewer.
Step 2. Then we observed the different phases of mitosis in plant cells
Step 3. We recorded the drawing of the phase.
2. Step 1. Count all the cells in the image of both cancerous and normal
issue of both lung and stomach tissue.
Step 2. Divide the # of cells diving (Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase
and Telophase) by the total # of cells to get the percentage of the
diving cells and the cells at rest (Interphase) by the total # of cells.
Step 3. Repeat the process for the normal and cancerous tissue for
both lung and stomach tissue.
3. Step 1. Get a microscope and look the onion root cell. Count all the
cells of the image.
Step 2. Classify the different type of cells based on their phases.
Step 3. Draw one of the phases based on how the cell looks threw the
microscope and one of how the image looks like.
Data/Result: 1. Results for the first part of the lab.
Prophase
Metaphase
Anaphase
Telophase
Result for the second part of the lab
Tissue
#Cells in # Cells in # Cells in
# Cells in # Cells in %Cells % Cells
Type
Interphase Prophase Metaphase Anaphase Telophase dividing at Rest
Lung
Tissue
19
1
0
0
0
5%
95%
Sample 1
Cancerous
Lung
17
1
1
0
1
15%
85%
Tissue
Stomach
Tissue
18
0
1
0
1
10%
90%
Sample 1
Cancerous
Stomach
14
2
1
1
2
30%
70%
Tissue
Results for the third part of the lab
Tissue #Cells in
#Cells in
#Cells in
#Cells in
#Cells in %Cells
Type Interphase prophase Metaphase Anaphase Telophase Diving
Onion
Root
15
0
2
2
1
25%
Questions
1. What does your data indicate about the rate of cell division in a
cancerous tissue compared to the rate of cell division in normal tissue?
(Compare the % of division and rest)
The cancerous tissue cells are diving three times more than the normal
tissue. In the normal Lung tissue only 5% of the cells are diving. In the
cancerous Lung tissue 15% of the cells are diving, three times more
than the normal. For the normal stomach tissue 10% are diving and in
the cancerous 30% are dividing.
%Cells at
rest
75%
2. This lab explores two common cancers. An additional form of cancer –
Skin Cancer – used to be seen only in older individuals but is now seen
in younger individuals, many in their early 20s. Skin cancer results
from accumulated mutations to the DNA of skin cells, caused primarily
by sun exposure. What factors do you think may be contributing to
the increase in skin cancer among young adults?
Maybe being exposed to sunlight for a long amount of time might
cause a mutation in the DNA of the skin cells that might cause cancer
because being exposed to sunlight for a long time kills skin cells.
3. What stage were the majorities of the cells in? Give a percentage.
Most of the cells are in Interphase with 75% of the total cells fifteen
out of twenty.
4. What evidence shows that mitosis is a continuous process, not a series
of separate events?
In each step an event happens that is crucial to continue the process
like in prophase the nucleus disappears and the spindle fibers stars
growing. After this the next phase can begin. Mitosis isn’t a series of
separate events because things need time to grow and each phase
connects perfectly with the next one. Even after mitosis is finish, the
cell keeps growing and the order of starting the process of mitosis is
still in the DNA so the cell will begin the process again.
Conclusion
After this lab we learned that cancer is a disease that starts in the DNA
from a mutation, after the first mutation cancer can keep mutating
until it becomes the deadly disease that can kill people. The cancer
cells don’t stop reproducing and those cells aren’t for replacement of
dead cells like the normal healthy cells. Cancer can start in any tissue
of the body and people can get the same cancer twice. We also
improved our ability of using a microscope and a viewer by observing
different images of plant mitosis and an onion root. This lab can be
rated to our lives because we can get cancer at any moment and we
don’t know is we have cancer until we are very sick or if we go to a
doctor before it becomes harmly.