A form of cell division in certain organisms that bypasses the normal meiotic process, often resulting in asexual or clonal reproduction.
From Greek 'a-' (without) plus 'meiosis' (reduction division in sexual reproduction). The prefix literally means 'without meiosis,' describing cells that divide without the reduction division typical of sexual reproduction.
Some organisms are cheaters when it comes to reproduction—they use ameiosis to clone themselves perfectly without needing a mate, which is faster but means their species never gets genetic diversity to handle new diseases or challenges.
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