Mystery of Mitochondria | Feeding Frenzy 30
In this edition, worth listening we explore the mystery of mitochondria from Radiolab. For a deeper dive and future exploration, we have a conversation with Dr. Vamsi Mootha, an expert in mitochondrial biology. Worth reading we have an article exploring Freediving through the lens of Alexey Molchanov. And as always a few other ideas worth your time!
Worth Listening
Cellmates | Radiolab
Earlier this week, I had boredom hit me, and my mind began to wander on mysteries of life. One of those mysteries is the origin of mitochondria. The fact that the cell within a cell or endosymbiosis worked and proliferated to form the foundation of complex life. This podcast will serve to wade into the topic of mitochondria. The next podcast will be a deeper dive. Fundamentally that understanding this unique cell could be a key to extending the human life span.
Vamsi Mootha, M.D.: Aging, type 2 diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease – do all roads lead to mitochondria? | Peter Attia
“We have 300 different forms of monogenic mitochondrial diseases. . .and these are terrible diseases and we need therapies for them. . .but it's also our hope that studying some of them will provide insights into the common form of aging as well.” —Vamsi Mootha
Dr. Vamsi Mootha, an expert in mitochondrial biology and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, shares his breadth of knowledge on the mitochondrion organelle: its history, function, genome architecture, and his research of rare mitochondrial dysfunction. Vamsi is currently focused on finding clinical treatments for the 300-some identified rare mitochondrial disorders, but there is a wealth of potential implications for longevity and chronic disease in this work. One of the exciting function mitochondria seem to have oxygen clearing effect in cells and if this is impaired can cause damage to the cells. Understanding the origins and functions of mitochondria will yield fruit for decades to come!
Worth Reading
The Secrets of The World’s Greatest Freediver | GQ
“Instead of focusing on the importance of an event, I switch to focusing on how much I enjoy deep diving, and how much I enjoy the process. I'm doing this because I like it.”
This article follows the story of Alexey Molchanov, history’s most daring freediver. The author likens what Alexey is attempting to be Free Solo but going down. What makes this so crazy is being able to train the human body to adapt to an environment that is alien to our survival instincts. It’s at the extremes we can learn more about ourselves and humanity as a whole.
Worth Watching
The 6 Year Overnight Success | Julie Nolke | TEDxIIITA
Explaining the pandemic to your past self was one of those ideas that cut through the tension that many of us had felt during the last year. It was that little bit of silliness that helped you handle such an uncertain time. However, hearing Julie share some of the backstories on what setup to be an "overnight success" is just as important. She uses the analogy of the bucket. Everything you do is filling up the bucket, and you never know which one will over the drop that overflows it. Even more so, you want your bucket to be deep enough so that once it overflows, you still can capture the audience from that point forward.
Worth Pondering
“The unhappy person is never present to themself because they always live in the past or the future.”
Soren Kierkegaard