Good gods, I'm a dork.

[chibi_trillian]

You know, it's been nearly a year. I'm starting to wonder if it's time to forgive mitochondria.

I mean, I used to love the little bastards. They were cool. They have their own DNA, multiply independently inside of the cell, have some bitchin' biochemical processes going on, and they're cute and easy to spot under the microscope. Plus they have the mystery of their genesis--no one knows exactly how mitochondria came to be within cells. I don't know if I'm really a big fan of the theory that they were once bacteria that got scarfed down yet somehow remained miraculously undigested by an ancient cell and then somehow magically figured out how to peacefully coexist within that same cell, but it's the best one I've heard so far.

And then senior seminar happened, and that year, for the first time, senior seminar students weren't allowed to select their own research topics. Our professor picked one research category for the whole class so we could practice researching as a group and so that no one could pull an "I'm having research difficulties, give me an extension!" Our prepicked topic? Diseases caused by defects in mitochondrial DNA--the professor's doctoral thesis, incidentally. Thus began a semester-long exercise in scientific vanity.

I spent five months studying a topic I wasn't thrilled about under a professor I hated, and as a result declared mitochondria to no longer be my favorite organelles. By the end of that course, about the only thing the entire class could agree on was that none of us were EVER going into mitochondrial DNA research. I said that Golgi bodies were my new favorite organelles and went on from there.

And then a job recruiter poked me on the subject of my senior seminar paper last week, and I rattled off random trivia about Kearns-Sayre Syndrome (a rare mtDNA deletion disorder that I studied--I believe I read nearly every extant piece of literature on the subject). Not only was this stuff I wasn't expecting to remember, it was shit I had actively tried to forget.

And I still think mitochondria are cute.

Comments

[kikkuma.livejournal.com]

You have just sucessfully brought back to me semesters and semesters of biology classes that I'd slept through over the years.

In 8th grade, I think, we were once given this one animal cell model sheet, where we had to color code all the different organelles and such. I remember making ribosomes blue, as well as failing the assignment terribly for having turned in a partially burnt paper.

Ahh... Childhood. ♥

[chibi-trillian.livejournal.com]

The unfortunate consequence of a biology degree--it oozes onto the people around you. ^_^;

...do I want to know why the paper was burnt?

[snarkymonkey.livejournal.com]

Your discussion makes me wish I'd taken *some* biology in college to build on what I took in high school. But alas, I relegated myself to accounting and bouts of history. Though, I did get rather gushy about consolidation worksheets. And foreign currency exchanges.

Ah, college. *snerkles*

And holy crap, your "drabble" is getting way long and serious. Totally meant for crack and now Ace is being bitchy. But you'll get smut at least. XD

[psychoteffy.livejournal.com]

I actually like mitochondria. Granted the whole reason is because I like the name... but i like them ^^;

And you never forget anything. Its always stored in the back of your brain. Semantic Memory is a bitch that allows you to remember events that is meaningful to you (be it bad or good) when prompted by certian cue words. So while its possible to actively bury memories... its not possible to forget ....sorry chibi *heart*

Sadly enough my forte in Psychology is Memory. -.-;

[kikkuma.livejournal.com]

Because I was an angry child who took out her life's aggression and frustration on her poor homework assignments?

Haha, nawh, not really. That time it was actually an accident. I'd scorched it while working on something in metal shop the period before hand. Nearly sent my whole backpack up in flames, that I did.

[creamy-twilight.livejournal.com]

Awww, you don't hate the mitochondria. It sounds like you just hated the professor and you were venting it out on the little dudes because they were the subject that the professor asked all of you to research. That sounds like ALOT of work. Our brain knows all.

[ocean-phoenix.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a word I've heard on CSI. On the other hand, I just got upstairs from watching it on Spike, and I swear there's no other show that uses more Latin words. (At least Grissom wasn't playing with bugs this time.)

[chibi-trillian.livejournal.com]

And I wish I'd taken more (i.e. any) accounting classes in college. Biology is only useful in academia, when figuring out whether or not to go the hospital, and when having/writing sex. Accounting is useful 24/7/365.

Accounting classes would have come in handy when it came time to do my taxes this year. I'm single, no dependents, not a homeowner, worked one job, and made less than $10K last year--I have no idea how I screwed up so badly that I wound up owing taxes. Oh well.

[chibi-trillian.livejournal.com]

...well, I learned something today. The More You Know. Damn, now I'll never rid myself of senior seminar. T_T

[chibi-trillian.livejournal.com]

Well, I couldn't actually tell my professor that she was an evil hellbitch and that I hated her, so I just hated mitochondria, which were quite safe to dislike as long as I did my papers and presentations with an unbiased viewpoint.

Senior seminar is a lot of work--it's where you prove that you've been paying attention for the last four years. It's mildly insane.

[chibi-trillian.livejournal.com]

They were probably discussing mitochondrial DNA typing. As mtDNA is passed down along strictly matrilinear lines (though ovum and sperm go 50/50 on nuclear DNA, the ovum has the lion's share of the mitochondria and therefore a person will share their mother's mtDNA type unless they've got a mutation of some kind), if you can get a sample of unknown mtDNA and compare it to a suspected matrilinear relative's mtDNA, you can help figure out who a person is. Unfortunately, mtDNA typing is a pain and costs a lot of money, so they usually exhaust all other options first.

[snarkymonkey.livejournal.com]

Oh, hell. It's a running joke in my family that I'm an accountant and can't do my own taxes considering one year I forgot to sign my form and the feds had to send it back to me. Oh, and forgetting a deduction on my state taxes the next year. *snerks* I'm in boring accounting though. College accounting. *snoooooooooze*

*glees* I have like . . . just a bit more left to do on it and some expansion on another section but I should finish it tomorrow. Oooooo? Prezzie? *dances* Some of your lovely ZoSan would be more than wicked. Yay!! *sparkles*

[ocean-phoenix.livejournal.com]

I was one of only 30 or so seniors in my HS graduating class that took the optional Biology 2 class. I SHOULD remember mitochondrial DNA, but as much as I enjoyed the chapter on genetics, it obviously didn't stick to my brain.

Matrilinear...ha ha. Well, there's the old Latin class + pre-disposition to be a science nerd in me anyway. I love the big 'technical' words that I sometimes pop out with in conversations with non-nerds who just stare blankly until I pick a different word from the 5th grade reading level instead.

[angstymcgoth.livejournal.com]

I worked in a virus lab for a while, and people are still going in that "are viruses technically 'alive'?" circular debate. YES, THEY ARE. Because it's more satisfying to swear at something that's animate.

[chibi-trillian.livejournal.com]

Mitochondria are quite alive, but I can't swear too loudly at them without being a hypocrite--after all, if my mitochondria quit working, I'd be quite upset. And severely disabled, if not dead. Such a dilemma.

[angstymcgoth.livejournal.com]

It's the directing-of-rage at the small, reletively innocent test subjects, I mean. Good god, it's a lucky thing I don't work with mice.