Mitochondria are found within almost every human cell. They are possibly the single most important part of the complicated biological construction that is our bodies, as they perform the chemical process of respiration. These tiny organelles, much smaller than an individual cell, transform oxygen and sugars into energy, which allows us to survive in the form we do.
However Mitochondria are thought by scientists to be the descendents of endosymbiotic lifeforms; organisms that survive within the cells of other species, sometimes to the detriment of the host or, as with the mitochondria, to the mutual benefit of both life-forms.
I learnt this when I was fifteen or so and it has never stopped fascinating me. That my body which seems so inherently singular, could be formed of such a degree of autonomous and alien parts, is both interesting and scary.
I am a compound. A multitude. Complex and multifarious. Which begs the old and rather clichéd question; ‘In that case, which part is me’.
No comments:
Post a Comment