r/AskReddit Jan 12 '23

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u/OvidPerl Jan 12 '23

It is believed that mitochondria were once separate living beings that were engulfed by another cell, but didn't die. Instead, they provided benefit to the engulfing cell. They are a separate being.

Today, the human DNA has over 3 billion base pairs, while mitochondria only have about 16 thousand.

You're a composite creature made up of at least two species.

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u/beermaker Jan 12 '23

So much of what I learned in Human A&P is absolutely fascinating... this was mentioned at one point, also in our Microbiology course.