The Mitochondria Is the Powerhouse of the Cell

The Mitochondria Is the Powerhouse of the Cell

If you’ve spent any time on the internet, you’ve seen the joke. Someone asks a biology question and the answer is always, inevitably, without a doubt “mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.” It’s the one biology fact everyone remembers, usually because it was drilled into them so aggressively in school and over the internet that it’s almost impossible to forget. The problem is that’s basically where the explanation stops. Powerhouse of the cell. Great. Thanks. But what does that…

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Is Your Cat Controlling Your Mind? The Truth About Toxoplasma

Is Your Cat Controlling Your Mind? The Truth About Toxoplasma

About one in three people on Earth are currently carrying a microscopic parasite in their brain tissue. Most of them have no symptoms. Most of them will never know. And a significant number of them probably own a cat. The parasite is called Toxoplasma gondii, and it is one of the most successful, most widespread, and most genuinely fascinating organisms on the planet. Not because it’s particularly dangerous to most people, but because of what it does, how it does…

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Your DNA Breaks Thousands of Times a Day. Here’s Why You’re Still Alive

Your DNA Breaks Thousands of Times a Day. Here’s Why You’re Still Alive

Here’s something you probably didn’t learn in biology class: your DNA is being damaged right now. Not occasionally, not under extreme circumstances, but constantly. Across basically every cell in your body, thousands of times a day. Your DNA being damaged is more common and more “voluntary” than blinking or breathing. And yet here you are. Fully intact. Which is actually the interesting part. The Problem With Being Alive Your DNA has a lot of enemies, and the most surprising ones…

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