What process do cells undergo to reproduce?

Mitosis is the process by which cells reproduce to create two identical daughter cells from a single parent cell. This process is crucial for growth, repair, and maintenance of tissues in multicellular organisms. During mitosis, the cell's chromosomes are duplicated and evenly divided, ensuring that each daughter cell has the same genetic material as the parent cell.

Mitosis occurs in somatic (non-reproductive) cells and involves several phases: prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase, leading to cytokinesis, where the cell's cytoplasm divides. This mechanism is essential for processes such as tissue regeneration, development, and asexual reproduction in some organisms.

Other processes mentioned are related but serve different roles: meiosis is designed for producing gametes (sex cells) with a reduced chromosome number, binary fission is a method of reproduction in prokaryotes (like bacteria), and cell differentiation refers to the process by which a less specialized cell becomes more specialized, typically in the context of developing tissues and organs.