Mitochondria are a badly kept secret. Many people have heard of them for one reason or another. In newspapers and some textbooks, they are summarily described as the ‘powerhouses’ of life—tiny power generators inside living cells that produce virtually all the energy we need to live.
Lane, Nick. Power, Sex, Suicide (Oxford Landmark Science) (p. 3). OUP Oxford. Kindle Edition.
Before I started reading Power, Sex, and Suicide I had heard the word “mitochondria” but if you had asked me to define the word or describe what mitochondria are I couldn’t have told you.
Now having learned something about mitochondria I am in awe. Mitochondria seem to be a fundamental basis for life. Mitochondria are what make living things tick. Without it we would not have life on this planet. So how important is it to know about mitochondria and its function in living systems? Low importance, some importance, highly important?