What Is Mitochondria?

Phospholipids make up most of the cell membrane, in a phospholipid bilayer. Phospholipid molecules form two layers, with the hydrophilic (water loving) head facing the extracellular fluid and the cytosol (intracellular) fluid, and the hydrophobic (not water loving) tails facing one another. The cell membrane is constructed in such a way that it is semipermeable, and allows oxygen, CO2 and lipid soluble molecules through easily, while other molecules like glucose, amino acids, water, and ions cannot pass through quite as easily. That is the meaning behind the chant “some things can pass, others cannot!”.

Your body requires energy in order to be able to perform tasks. Energy comes in many different forms. They are chemical, light, sound, heat and mechanical. You can get energy from different food substances i.e. glucose, fatty acids, sugars and amino acids. To be able to get the energy from these food substances energy needs to be released with oxygen. This is known as aerobic respiration. The role that energy plays in our body is the process of moving molecules in and out of our cells while breaking down the larger molecules and building new molecules. The cardiovascular system transports oxygenated blood around the body and to the cells. It will then collect the deoxygenated blood which is ready for the excretion from the cells. The cardiovascular system will deliver the nutrients oxygen and glucose via the blood stream. Oxygen is need for aerobic respiration to occur. The cardiovascular system will pump oxygen and nutrients carrying blood throughout the body. The glucose molecules that are carried by the blood are transported into the cells. Along with the oxygen that is diffused into the cells they are used in respiration to produce ATP. The respiratory system is responsible for bringing in oxygen as well as using it to burn the nutrients that we need for energy. The respiratory system contains alveoli which allow the diffusion of oxygen into the blood stream

Mitochondria – Spherical bodies in the cytoplasm where energy is produced. The cell uses this energy to perform the specific work necessary for cell survival and function.

Introduction: The biological membranes are composed of phospholipid bilayers, each phospholipid with hydrophilic heads and hydrophobic tails, and proteins. This arrangement of the proteins and lipids produces a selectively permeable membrane. Many kinds of molecules surround or are contained within

Energy is stored within the bonds in the body that hold atoms and molecules all in one place, the cells can break down the glucose molecules, this is done through a chemical reaction. This can take place within the cytoplasm and it is then finished within the mitochondria, this is known as cellular respiration.

Each mitochondrion has a double-layered membrane like the cell membrane, however the inner layer is folder which produces ‘shelves’ which are known as cristae, this is where the end stages of glucose oxidation are located. The energy that has been released is stored until required by a ‘chemical battery’ called adenosine triphosphate.

Introduction: Cell membranes contain many different types of molecules which have different roles in the overall structure of the membrane. Phospholipids form a bilayer, which is the basic structure of the membrane. Their non-polar tails form a barrier to most water soluble substances. Membrane proteins serves as channels for transport of metabolites, some act as enzymes or carriers, while some are receptors. Lastly carbohydrate molecules of the membrane are relatively short-chain polysaccharides, which has multiple functions, for example, cell-cell recognition and acting as receptor sites for chemical signals.

The third and final step in cellular respiration is the electron transport chain which takes place in the inner mitochondrion membrane. This process uses the high-energy electrons from the Krebs cycle to convert ADP into ATP. These high-energy electrons are first passed along the electron transport chain. Every time 2 electrons travel down this chain, their energy is used to transport hydrogen ions (H+) across the membrane. These H+ ions escape through channels into an ATP synthase. This causes it to spin, transforming the ADP into ATP. On average, each pair of high-energy electrons that moves down the electron

Cellular respiration is a process that happens in all living eukaryotic cells. What cellular respiration does is turn food often carbohydrates into energy for our bodies. Cellular respiration starts with a carbohydrates sugar called glucose. What it does is alter and break down the six carbon molecule glucose and altering it creating two three carbon molecules called pyruvic acids in an anaerobic process called glycolosis (Cellular respiration). What this process does is create two ATP molecules which are basically molecules which provide energy to run all cellular processes in our bodies (king). However, from here in the process can turn aerobic, meaning using oxygen if present or anaerobic meaning when oxygen is not present in a

Cell membrane is a selective boundary composed of a unique phospholipid bi-layer structure consisting of lipids, proteins and carbohydrates. This structure regulates the import and export to maintain homeostasis condition inside the cell. (Knox et al., 2014) The plasma membrane is referred as a fluid mosaic which also has selective permeability. The permeability of the membrane can be varied depending on the external conditions. (Mitchel, 2015)

The mitochondria is commonly know as the “powerhouse” of the cell. It is a small structure in the cell that are made up of two membranes. Cellular respiration is the job of the mitochondria. Which means it takes in nutrients from the cell, breaks it down and turns it into energy. Then the energy is used by the cell for other functions. (“Gale Encyclopedia...”,2010)

In order for cells and organisms to “live” they need to perform certain tasks such as produce energy through respiration, send messages, maintenance and reproduction. To enable the cell to do so, it contains within small structures called organelles, each organelle is different and carries out a specific function.

The Mitochondrion is an organelle surrounded by an outer and inner membrane, it is found is most eukaryotic cells and it is the site of aerobic cellular respiration.

Structurally mitochondria are made up of an outer and inner membrane; which are separated by the intermembrane space. The outer membrane is composed of about a 1:1 ratio by weight of protein to phospholipid lipid, similar to the eukaryotic plasma membrane. The outer membrane contains integral membrane proteins called porins that greatly increase the permeability of the membrane by allowing passage of high molecular weight molecules. The inner membrane is composed of a very high ratio of protein to phospholipid (3:1 by weight), a much higher proportion of protein than found in other eukaryotic membranes. The inner membrane is much less permeable and most molecules require special membrane-spanning transport proteins to enter or exit the matrix

The study is of significant importance as it might give insight into “water transport through hydrophobic channels” which is similar to the “system of transmembrane protein pores like aquaporins”.