Opposed to the hydrogen hypothesis, in which both cells cooperated from the start.
As of 2020, there are no known eukaryotes which have never had mitochondria.
Known eukaryotes without mitochondria, which are very rare, have lost mitochondria they previously had.
Having mitochondria appears to be a requisite for being an eukaryote. This is one of the central thesis of Power, Sex, Suicide by Nick Lane (2006).
Notably, it does not undergo crossover.
It has to swim fast, right!
So how is it that mitochondria are not inherited from the father?
- 2016 www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160623145932.htm It appears that the exact mechanism hadn't been elucidated
The process that imports proteins encoded in the nuclear DNA and made in the cytosol into the mitochondria.
Power, Sex, Suicide by Nick Lane (2006) suggests that proteins are somehow tagged with extra amino acids for this.
Mitochondria have DNA because they need to be controlled individually by 
Ciro Santilli 40 Updated 2025-07-16
Ciro Santilli 40 Updated 2025-07-16Argued at Power, Sex, Suicide by Nick Lane (2006) page 212.
Basically, energy supply has to be modulated rather quickly, because we spend a lot sometimes, and very little other times.
Even not turning it off quickly enough is a problem, as it starts to generate free radicals which fuck you up.
If control came from the nucleus, it has no way to address different mitochondria. But it might be that only one of the mitochondria needs the change. If the nucleus tells all mitochondria to stop producing when only one is full, the others are going to say: "nope, I'm not full, continue producing!" and the one that need to stop will have its signal overridden by the others.
Wikipedia mentions "Since animal mtDNA evolves faster than nuclear genetic markers" with a few sources.
Some sources:
- Power, Sex, Suicide by Nick Lane (2006) page 361 mentions:so this property is also important for the human mitochondrial molecular clock.
While nuclear DNA can barely distinguish between chimps and humans, the mitochondrial clock ticks fast enough to reveal differences accumulating over tens of thousands of years
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3350313 says it for metazoans
- www.quora.com/Why-does-mitochondrial-DNA-mutate-faster
All pages below are from the second edition from 2018. It seems that there weren't any changes in the text, the updated preface mentions
As it happens, nearly 15 years have passed since the 1st edition of Power, Sex, Suicide was published, and I am resisting the temptation to make any lame revisions. Some say that even Darwin lessened the power of his arguments in the Origin of Species through his multiple revisions, in which he dealt with criticisms and sometimes shifted his views in the wrong direction. I prefer my original to speak for itself, even if it turns out to be wrong.
This is partly addressed in the preface of the second edition from 2018.
Central thesis:
- there are two sexes because of mitochondria
- the acquisition of mitochondria was one of the most important steps in the evolution of eukaryotes.There are no known eukaryotes which never had mitochondria. Having mitochondria appears to be a requisite for being an eukaryote.Contrast this for example with multicellularity, which is highly polyphyletic.
- Apoptosis is largely regulated by mitochondria
- there are two main theories for how the mitochondria endosymbiosis started:
- parsitic hypothesis of mitochondrial endosymbiosis: a parasitic option rather than cooperative
- hydrogen hypothesis: a cooperative option rather than parasitic
Smaller points:
- 10% of our body weight (dry presumably?) is mitochondria. Also quoted at: www.nature.com/scitable/blog/student-voices/mighty_mitochondria. TODO confirm.
- eukaryotes can do phatocytosis due to their cytoskeleton
- paints a colorful picture of Peter Mitchell. Some Wikipedia edits are warranted!
- it is hard for complex organisms to evolve because longer DNA means longer replication time
- cancer is natural selection gone wrong
- multicellular organisms are not utopias where every cell lives happily. Rather, they are dictatorships, where any dissident is forced to commit seppuku. Lu Xun's petition quote comes to mind.
Nitpicks:
- the book calls ATP synthase "ATPase" in several points, which is confusing because -ase means "something that breaks", and in 2020 parlance, there are ATPases which actually break ATP: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATPase. The book itself acknowledges that on page 135:
The ATPase is freely reversible. Under some circumstances it can go into reverse, whereupon it splits ATP, and uses the energy released to pump protons up the drive shaft, back across the membrane against the pressure of the reservoir. In fact the very name ATPase (rather than ATP synthase) signifies this action, which was discovered first. This bizarre trait hides a deep secret of life, and we’ll return to it in a moment.
Some criticisms:
- some of the later chapters are a bit more boring, like the stuff about warm-blooded animals. Perhaps is it that Ciro Santilli is more interested in the molecular aspects than macro
- the author talks about some very recent research at the time. While this does highlight his expertise, some of the points mentioned might still be in a state of flow. This is acknowledged by the author himself on the 2018 updated preface however.
Packet Clearing House (PCH) is a non-profit organization that focuses on improving the performance and reliability of the Internet through the development and deployment of various network infrastructure solutions. PCH is known for providing services such as Internet exchange points, route servers, and DNS infrastructure to enhance connectivity among networks and facilitate the efficient exchange of Internet traffic. PCH plays a key role in increasing the resilience of global Internet infrastructure, particularly in regions that may be underserved or have less-developed telecommunications networks.
The term "public opinion brigades" is not a widely recognized or standard concept, so its meaning can vary based on context. However, it seems to refer to organized groups or initiatives aimed at influencing public opinion or collecting and analyzing public sentiment on various issues. Such organizations may work in the fields of politics, marketing, social movements, or research.
ZA Central Registry (ZACR) is the organization responsible for managing the registration of domain names under the .za (South Africa) country code top-level domain (ccTLD). Founded in 1995, ZACR oversees the infrastructure and policies related to domain registrations in South Africa, ensuring the stability and security of these domains. ZACR offers various services related to domain name registration, including support for second-level domains like .co.za, .net.za, .org.
French Internet celebrities, often referred to as "influenceurs" or "influenceuses" in French, are individuals who have gained significant popularity and a large following on various online platforms, such as YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. These personalities can span across different niches, including fashion, beauty, gaming, travel, food, and lifestyle.
The Service for French Internet Exchange (SFINX) refers to a network exchange point in France designed to facilitate the exchange of internet traffic between different networks, also known as Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and other organizations. SFINX is operated by the French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation (Inria) and is located in Paris.
The World Internet Conference (WIC) is an annual event held in China that focuses on discussing the development and governance of the internet. The conference was first convened in 2014 and is organized by the Cyberspace Administration of China. It brings together leaders from government, business, academia, and civil society to share insights, exchange ideas, and address global internet-related issues.
The Conseil national du numérique (CNNum) is a French advisory body dedicated to digital issues and transformation. Established in 2011, it aims to provide recommendations and insights to the French government and other stakeholders on various aspects of the digital economy, technology, and digital policy. The CNNum's mission includes analyzing the impact of digital technology on society, the economy, and public policy, as well as promoting the development of digital skills, enhancing innovation, and fostering inclusivity in the digital realm.
France is home to a variety of internet technology companies that operate in different sectors, including software development, e-commerce, digital services, and more. Here are some notable internet technology companies based in France: 1. **Orange S.A.** - One of the largest telecommunications operators in the world, providing a range of internet and mobile services. 2. **Atos** - A multinational IT services company that offers consulting, digital services, and technology solutions to various industries.
Internet censorship in the United Kingdom refers to the regulation and restriction of online content and activities by the government, internet service providers (ISPs), or other entities. While the UK generally upholds free speech and access to information, various measures are in place that can restrict certain types of content.
Pinned article: Introduction to the OurBigBook Project
Welcome to the OurBigBook Project! Our goal is to create the perfect publishing platform for STEM subjects, and get university-level students to write the best free STEM tutorials ever.
Everyone is welcome to create an account and play with the site: ourbigbook.com/go/register. We belive that students themselves can write amazing tutorials, but teachers are welcome too. You can write about anything you want, it doesn't have to be STEM or even educational. Silly test content is very welcome and you won't be penalized in any way. Just keep it legal!
Intro to OurBigBook
. Source. We have two killer features:
- topics: topics group articles by different users with the same title, e.g. here is the topic for the "Fundamental Theorem of Calculus" ourbigbook.com/go/topic/fundamental-theorem-of-calculusArticles of different users are sorted by upvote within each article page. This feature is a bit like:
- a Wikipedia where each user can have their own version of each article
- a Q&A website like Stack Overflow, where multiple people can give their views on a given topic, and the best ones are sorted by upvote. Except you don't need to wait for someone to ask first, and any topic goes, no matter how narrow or broad
This feature makes it possible for readers to find better explanations of any topic created by other writers. And it allows writers to create an explanation in a place that readers might actually find it.
Figure 1. Screenshot of the "Derivative" topic page. View it live at: ourbigbook.com/go/topic/derivativeVideo 2. OurBigBook Web topics demo. Source. - local editing: you can store all your personal knowledge base content locally in a plaintext markup format that can be edited locally and published either:This way you can be sure that even if OurBigBook.com were to go down one day (which we have no plans to do as it is quite cheap to host!), your content will still be perfectly readable as a static site.
- to OurBigBook.com to get awesome multi-user features like topics and likes
- as HTML files to a static website, which you can host yourself for free on many external providers like GitHub Pages, and remain in full control
Figure 3. Visual Studio Code extension installation.
Figure 4. Visual Studio Code extension tree navigation.
Figure 5. Web editor. You can also edit articles on the Web editor without installing anything locally.Video 3. Edit locally and publish demo. Source. This shows editing OurBigBook Markup and publishing it using the Visual Studio Code extension.Video 4. OurBigBook Visual Studio Code extension editing and navigation demo. Source. 
- Infinitely deep tables of contents:
All our software is open source and hosted at: github.com/ourbigbook/ourbigbook
Further documentation can be found at: docs.ourbigbook.com
Feel free to reach our to us for any help or suggestions: docs.ourbigbook.com/#contact