This series of blogs on Mitochondria is from the notes that accompany a presentation at the Vancouver Island Herb Gather June 11, 2022.

Without the midi – chlorians, life could not exist, and we would have no knowledge of the Force. They continually speak to us, telling us the will of the Force. When you learn to quiet your mind, you’ll hear them speaking to you.

— Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace, Qui – Gon Jinn to Anakin Skywalker 

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there were intelligent microscopic life forms called midi – chlorians that lived symbiotically inside the cells of all living things. When present in sufficient numbers, they allowed their symbiotic host to detect the pervasive energy field known as the Force. Midi – chlorian counts were linked to one’s potential in the Force, ranging from normal human levels of 2,500 per cell to the much higher levels in a Jedi. The highest known midi – chlorian count (over 20,000 per cell) belonged to Jedi Anakin Skywalker. Present in all life, midi – chlorians are the same on every world that supports life — in fact, midi – chlorians are necessary for life to exist. In sufficient numbers, midi – chlorians will allow their host organism to detect the Force, and this connection can be strengthened by quieting one’s mind, allowing the midi – chlorians to “speak” to their host and communicate the will of the Force.

Midi-chlorians are microscopic, intelligent life forms that originated from the foundation of life in the center of the galaxy (Well Spring of Life), and ultimately resided within the cells of all living organisms, thereby forming a symbiotic relationship with their hosts. The Force speaks through the midi-chlorians, allowing certain beings to use the Force if they were sensitive enough to its powers. To gauge an individual’s potential in the Force, blood tests were used to estimate the number of midi-chlorians within the subject’s cells. Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One, possessed the highest known count in galactic history—over twenty-thousand midi-chlorians—surpassing the potential of Grand Master Yoda and all Jedi.

Midi-Chlorian are inspired by the mitochondria!

The Well Spring of Life, a mystical planet located in the center of the galaxy, originated of a microscopic species that served as the link between the Living Force within all life forms and the infinite Cosmic Force. It was also the foundation of life, with all life forms serving a symbiotic host for the living organisms native to the wellspring. In modern science these intelligent microbes became known as “midi-chlorians.”

Say What! You thought this blog was going to be about Herbology, Science and the use of botanicals in a clinical setting, not Pop-culture and old movies.

What’s fascinating to me is that midi – chlorians were loosely based on mitochondria, organelles that provide energy for almost all cells on our non – science fiction, real – world. Like midi – chlorians, mitochondria are believed to have once been separate organisms that inhabited living cells and have since become part of them; even now, mitochondria act in some ways as independent life forms, with their own DNA.

You might remember from high school biology that mitochondria are often referred to as the powerhouses of the cell. They help turn the energy we take from food into energy that the cell can use. But there is much more to mitochondria than energy production. Present in nearly all types of human cells, mitochondria are vital to our survival. They generate most of our adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energy currency of the cell. Mitochondria are also tasked in other areas, such as signaling between cells and cell death, otherwise known as apoptosis. They communicate via electrons and light. Some of which is from the quantum realm.

Mitochondrial DNA

• Although most of our DNA is kept in the nucleus of each cell, mitochondria have their own sets of DNA. Interestingly, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is more like bacterial DNA.
• The mtDNA holds the instructions for several proteins and other cellular support equipment across 37 genes.
• The human genome stored in the nuclei of our cells contains around 3.3 billion base pairs, whereas mtDNA consists of less than 17,000.
• During reproduction, half of a child’s DNA comes from their father and half from their mother. However, the child always receives their mtDNA from their mother. Because of this, mtDNA has proven very useful for tracing genetic lines.
• For instance, mtDNA analyses have concluded that humans may have originated in Africa relatively recently, around 200,000 years ago, descended from a common ancestor, known as mitochondrial Eve.

What is quite interesting is, as we all know each cell contains one complete set of DNA in the nucleus (nDNA), but each mitochondrion contains five to ten copies of its genes. Each cell has usually several hundred to a couple thousands of mitochondria, meaning there are many thousands of copies of the same mtDNA in each cell.

What do mitochondria do? Although the best-known role of mitochondria is energy production, they carry out other important tasks as well. In fact, only about 3 percent of the genes needed to make a mitochondrion go into its energy production equipment. The vast majority are involved in other jobs that are specific to the cell type where they are found.

Below, we cover a few of the roles of the mitochondria:

Producing energy: ATP, a complex organic chemical found in all forms of life, is often referred to as the molecular unit of currency because it powers metabolic processes. Most ATP is produced in mitochondria through a series of reactions, known as the citric acid cycle or the Krebs cycle.

Energy production mostly takes place on the folds or cristae of the inner membrane.

Mitochondria convert chemical energy from the food we eat into an energy form that the cell can use. This process is called oxidative phosphorylation.

The Krebs cycle produces a chemical called NADH. NADH is used by enzymes embedded in the cristae to produce ATP. In molecules of ATP, energy is stored in the form of chemical bonds. When these chemical bonds are broken, the energy can be used. 

Cell death: Cell death, also called apoptosis, is an essential part of life. As cells become old or broken, they are cleared away and destroyed. Mitochondria help decide which cells are destroyed.

Storing calcium: Calcium is vital for several cellular processes. For instance, releasing calcium back into a cell can initiate the release of a neurotransmitter from a nerve cell or hormones from endocrine cells. Calcium is also necessary for muscle function, fertilization, and blood clotting, among other things.

Heat production: When we are cold, we shiver to keep warm. But the body can also generate heat in other ways, one of which is by using a tissue called brown fat.

During a process called proton leak, mitochondria can generate heat. This is known as non-shivering thermogenesis. Brown fat is found at its highest levels in babies, when we are more susceptible to cold, and slowly levels reduce as we age.

In our next Blog — Part 2, we are going to look at mitochondria dysfunction (MD).