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Interphase
The process for which cells divide is called mitosis. Mitosis occurs when cyclins are introduced into the cell. According to the University of Arizona, cyclins are chemicals found within cells that activate the replication process of chromosomes. All cells have cyclins within their cell membranes, regularly telling the cell to divide. When a cyclin activates a cell division, the chromosomes begin to copy and replicate themselves. The chromosomes are found within the nucleus, or core, of the cell. Each human being and human cell contains 23 pairs of chromosomes. Hence, 46 pairs of chromosomes are created within the nucleus after cyclin introduction. This is called the interphase stage of mitosis.
Cell Division
Once the chromosomes are divided equally, the nucleus begins to disintegrate. Once the nucleus is gone, the original set of chromosomes and the copy pairs are pushed to either side of the cell. Protein fibers keep equal sets of chromosomes together. The fibers also help push the cell membrane, stretching it until the membrane begins to break down. As this occurs, two new nuclei are formed containing the chromosomes set. The protein fibers end up creating a ring called actin which slices the cell in half. As a result, there are now two new cells, each with 23 sets of chromosomes.
Differentiation
Cellular differentiation is an entirely different process seen in cells. According to the Life Sciences department at Arizona State University, cell differentiation describes the process where one cell becomes a different type of cell. Differentiation mostly occurs with gestation; when a sperm fertilizes an egg, the egg begins to not only go through cellular division, but each cell becomes a different type of cell. This is often the basis of stem cell research. Stem cells are blank cells, meaning they do not have genetic information that turns the cell into a liver cell or a bone cell.
Induction
A 2009 article in Scientific American describes the process of induction, one of the most thorough reasons for cell differentiation. Induction is when other cells signal to a blank cell (stem cell), or an existing cell, to become a new type of cell. To do this, the cell is given information, mostly proteins, that tell the cell to turn into another type of cell. The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center gives a basic example of this process through bone marrow. Bone marrow is a form of tissue that differentiates into new cells often. This differentiation results in new red and white blood cells, platelets and other cells found in the human blood stream to form.