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Help!!!! Please

You have 46 chromosomes in each of your somatic cells. If you cut your arm , how many chromosomes would be in each newly formed skin cell?

1 Answer

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The answer is 46.

Somatic cells means body cells, including your skin cells, muscle cells, stomach cells etc. All of them has 46 chromosomes, in human. They have the complete set of chromosomes.

Meanwhile the only cells that have different chromosomes are the gametes. They only have half of the chromosomes than the somatic cells, in order to restore the correct number of chromosomes of offsprings.

Therefore, if you cut your arm, your body produce new skin cells by the process of mitosis, where the new cells would be genetically identical to the parent cell, which is the older skin cells. So, the answer is 46.
User Kim Oliveros
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