At several points in the cell cycle there are checkpoints that control the cell's passage from one phase to the next. If a cell receives a signal at each checkpoint, it continues to the next phase; if it does not receive the signal, the cell does not continue. For example, a growth factor may stimulate a cell to move from G₁ into S phase. If no growth factor is present, the cell cycle stops in G₁ and the cell does not divide. Predict what would happen to a cell and to a multicellular organism if there was a defect at the checkpoint and the cell continued through the cell cycle even in the absence of a signal.

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The Answer of At several points in the cell cycle there are checkpoints that control the cell's passage from one phase to the next. If a cell receives a signal at each checkpoint, it continues to the next phase; if it does not receive the signal, the cell does not continue. For example, a growth factor may stimulate a cell to move from G₁ into S phase. If no growth factor is present, the cell cycle stops in G₁ and the cell does not divide. Predict what would happen to a cell and to a multicellular organism if there was a defect at the checkpoint and the cell continued through the cell cycle even in the absence of a signal.

At Several Points in the Cell Cycle There Are Checkpoints