Just listening to this new program. I've not finished listening yet - but it provides an interesting background to mitochondria. So far, mostly history but plenty of time to go.
It's about 50 minutes so leave a good slot to listen.
For anyone who does not realise, mitochondria are very significantly affected by thyroid hormones.
The energy released by mitochondria goes both to power everything else in the body and, specifically, by an approach which short-circuits the usual phosphorylation and ends up releasing heat. (This is achieved by an uncoupling protein - such as UCP1.) That is, it enables warm-bloodedness. (Heat will anyway be released wherever chemical reactions are occurring. But this process enables direct heat production. That is, in human and animal terms, non-shivering thermogenesis.)
Released On: 01 Jun 2023
Available for over a year
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the power-packs within cells in all complex life on Earth.
Inside each cell of every complex organism there are structures known as mitochondria. The 19th century scientists who first observed them thought they were bacteria which had somehow invaded the cells they were studying. We now understand that mitochondria take components from the food we eat and convert them into energy.
Mitochondria are essential for complex life, but as the components that run our metabolisms they can also be responsible for a range of diseases – and they probably play a role in how we age. The DNA in mitochondria is only passed down the maternal line. This means it can be used to trace population movements deep into human history, even back to an ancestor we all share: mitochondrial Eve.
With
Mike Murphy
Professor of Mitochondrial Redox Biology at the University of Cambridge
Florencia Camus
NERC Independent Research Fellow at University College London
and
Nick Lane
Professor of Evolutionary Biochemistry at University College London
bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001md34
Program website:
Latest on prescribing T3 in the UK to remain available.
