The human body contains roughly 10 quadrillion mitochondria — perhaps the most numerous “entity” in the body aside from individual protein molecules. Each runs ~10,000 ATP synthase rotations per second driven by a 200 mV proton-motive force across an inner membrane whose ancestor was a free-living α-proteobacterium engulfed ~1.5 billion years ago. Our new Mitochondria course covers this organelle from endosymbiotic origin to the frontier of clinical translation in ten graduate-level modules.
What the Course Covers
- M0 — Origin & Endosymbiosis: Margulis 1967, α-proteobacterial ancestor (Rickettsia-like), Lane & Martin energy-per-gene argument for eukaryotic complexity.
- M1 — Ultrastructure & Membranes: Palade 1952, cristae geometry, MICOS complex, contact sites (MAMs), TOM/TIM import machinery.
- M2 — Mitochondrial Genome: the 16,569 bp human circular mtDNA, 37 genes, maternal inheritance, heteroplasmy, mitochondrial Eve 200,000 years ago.
- M3 — Oxidative Phosphorylation: complexes I–IV cryo-EM structures, Mitchell 1961 chemiosmotic hypothesis, Q-cycle, cytochrome c.
- M4 — ATP Synthase (F0F1): Boyer 1997 binding-change Nobel, Walker 1994 structure, Yasuda 1998 single-molecule rotation, ~50 pN·nm torque.
- M5 — ROS & Oxidative Stress: superoxide from Complex I/III, SOD2, mitohormesis (Ristow 2009), Harman 1956 free-radical theory of aging.
- M6 — Network Dynamics & Mitophagy: MFN1/2, OPA1, DRP1, Miro-TRAK axonal transport, PINK1/Parkin mitophagy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.
- M7 — Mitochondria in Disease: Leigh, MELAS (m.3243A>G), LHON, Kearns-Sayre, heteroplasmy threshold, Parkinson’s PINK1/Parkin link, cancer Warburg.
- M8 — Therapies & Transplantation: MitoQ/SkQ1 antioxidants, elamipretide (FDA-approved 2025 for Barth), McCully cardiac mitochondrial transplantation, 3-parent IVF (UK 2015), DdCBE mtDNA base editing.
- M9 — Brain Mitochondria: regional CMRO2, synaptic mito dynamics, mito in Parkinson/Alzheimer/Huntington, Picard psycho-mitochondrial allostatic load, MOTS-c retrograde signalling. Embeds Dr. Martin Picard’s longevity lecture.
Featured Videos
The course embeds four expert lectures: Mitochondria: The Fuel and the Fire on the course landing page, The Mysterious Cellular Parasite in Module 0 (endosymbiotic origin), Mitochondrial Metabolism and Cell Decisions in Module 7 (disease), and Dr. Martin Picard’s long-form conversation on Improving Energy & Longevity by Optimising Mitochondria in Module 9.
Python Simulations
Every module includes executable Python simulations via the built-in ServerCodeRunner: cristae geometric optimisation, Marcus electron transfer, heteroplasmy bottleneck, PINK1/Parkin cascade timeline, TPP+ Nernst accumulation, regional brain CMRO2, mitochondrial allostatic load. Run them in the browser, modify parameters, and see the output instantly.