A virtual laboratory on cell division

Explore the process of mitosis by analyzing real cell images

resource type /

Lesson Plan

published / March 2, 2026

education level /

Undergraduate

Microscopic view of cells with fibrous cytoplasm and dark nuclei

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contributors

Graham Johnson

Sr. Director, Visualization & Data Integration

Details

Topic: Cell biology

Audience: Advanced undergraduate students

Open dataset/tool: 3D Cell Viewer

Resource type: Lesson

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About this lesson:

This lesson guides students through an exploration of a large dataset of human cell images with fluorescently tagged structures. Through this two-part activity, students are asked to generate a hypothesis and prediction related to the amount of time it takes a cell to complete each stage of cell division. Then, students explore the dataset and count the number of cells in each stage of mitosis, entering their data into a spreadsheet for later analysis. The CourseSource article features a teaching discussion where the authors comment on their experience teaching with the lesson and potential variations that other instructors could try.

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Materials

All materials are available in the “Article Files” section of the CourseSource publication.

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Microscopic view of cells with fibrous cytoplasm and dark nuclei

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