Abstract
Identification of the mitochondrion has been a tremendous achievement of accomplished scientists who tried to understand the essence of life, life energy. We now know that the mitochondrion is the intracellular powerhouse that generates ATP, the chemical energy source, through a chain of reactions called oxidative phosphorylation. The realm of mitochondrial research has been steadily expanded since, and now the mitochondrion is known to play major roles in many important health problems of the twenty-first century: degenerative neuromuscular disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease; metabolic disorders such as diabetes mellitus; senescence; and carcinogenesis. Furthermore, mitochondria tell us the history of the evolution of life and our past, including migrations out of Africa. This new awareness has sparked many new and expanded areas of mitochondrial research of great interest to a wide variety of scientists.
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Lee, H.K. (2004). Overview. In: Lee, H.K., DiMauro, S., Tanaka, M., Wei, YH. (eds) Mitochondrial Pathogenesis. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, vol 1011. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-41088-2_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-41088-2_1
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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