Over the years, the safety of many food additives, from food dyes to trans fats, has come into question. A scare over a food additive may linger in our minds long after researchers find that there's actually no cause for alarm.
In cell biology, a mitochondrion (plural mitochondria) is an organelle found in most eukaryotic cells. Mitochondria are sometimes described as cellular power plants, because their primary function is to convert organic materials into energy. Note: The above text is excerpted from the Wikipedia article Mitochondrion, which has been released under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Mitochondria - Turning on the Powerhouse. Mitochondria are known as the powerhouses of the cell. They are organelles that act like a digestive system which takes in nutrients, breaks them down, and creates energy rich molecules for the cell. The biochemical processes of the cell are known as cellular respiration. Many of the reactions involved in cellular respiration happen in the mitochondria. Mitochondria are the working organelles that keep the cell full of energy. Mitochondria are small organelles floating free throughout the cell. Some cells have several thousand mitochondria while others have none. Muscle cells need a lot of energy so they have loads of mitochondria. Neurons (cells that transmit nerve impulses) donât need as many. If a cell feels it is not getting enough energy to survive, more mitochondria can be created. Sometimes a mitochondria can grow larger or combine with other mitochondria. It all depends on the needs of the cell.