Here's why:
* Meiosis is a specialized type of cell division: It occurs only in germ cells (cells that will become sperm or eggs).
* Reduces chromosome number: Meiosis halves the number of chromosomes in a cell, going from diploid (two sets of chromosomes) to haploid (one set of chromosomes).
* Creates genetic diversity: The process of meiosis shuffles and recombines genes, creating unique combinations of chromosomes in the resulting gametes.
Examples of gametes include:
* Sperm cells in males
* Egg cells in females
The fusion of a sperm cell and an egg cell during fertilization results in a zygote, which has the full complement of chromosomes and develops into a new organism.
