The energy-producing organelles also send out parcels with antimicrobial compounds to help destroy pathogen invaders in macrophages.

The parasitic plant manages to go without a component of mitochondria found in all other multicellular life forms.

Mitochondria may sustain temperatures more than 10 °C warmer than human cells, say researchers. 

Mitochondria age differently depending upon whether they’re located in the liver, heart, or kidney, scientists find in flies and mice.