Name a single biological entity that has a better PR department. The only one that comes close is Athlete's Foot, which makes the victim sound cool.
My biology classes did have us gene editing bacteria to chance its color. That was fun!
> The only one that comes close is Athlete's Foot, which makes the victim sound cool.
The best cure for athletes foot is a 30 minute soak in diluted bleach. Get a wash basin, fill it with warm water, and add enough bleach so that it tingles a little bit.
Do this every other day 3 times, e.g. Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Problem solved.
Make sure to clean out the shoes as well, ideally not wearing any infected shoes for a few days at least, and soak the insides with Lysol a few times to prevent reinfection.
The basis of this technique is that you have skin to spare, and your skin regrows.
Unlike the fungus.
Love this line! Phoenix Worm came to mind.
The explanation doesn't get much better at higher levels. You have the Krebs cycle which biology people religiously memorize but it doesn't really explain much either. The actual interesting part is usually handwaved away as "magical enzyme/protein" catalysis. Understanding how the mitochondrial proteins/enzyme catalysts function would usually require a graduate degree, and maybe a background in biochemistry and biophysics.
As far as I’m aware we’ve never worshipped mitochondria. And unless you want to count eating which is technically true but not philosophically so, we don’t sacrifice plants or animals to mitochondria.
Are there mitochondria in neurons?
Yes [1].
RBC's don't need them because they are incredibly low-metabolism. It's energetically cheaper for the organism just to make them, let them go for a few months, and then recycle the components.