Two things

I love reading about something that happens in a cell that billions of years later is imitated by human technology. The thing I learned about was an action in the mitochondria where hydrogen protons are shot through a protein (ATP synthase) in chemiosmosis to produce energy (ATP) by causing a molecular turbine-like structure to spin. Cells do this constantly to produce energy. But this process wasn't discovered until the 1960-70s. We've been using this concept to produce energy outside our bodies for centuries using wind and water power. But little did we know our cells have been doing this for billions of years, even before humans existed.

SO CRAZY.

The other thing I learned about was in my medical terms class about swelling. So, basophils (a type of white blood cell) release histamines in response to microorganisms. The histamine dilates blood vessels and increases blood flow. Here's what I think is so cool – it also changes the permeability of blood vessel wall. This causes allows large molecules like water and proteins to leak into tissues. And this is what we can see as swelling. Of course, things swell for other reasons. I just found this one so interesting because I've been learning about selective permeability in cells membranes, and so I found this concept realllllly cool, too.

There is so much going on in our body. It's like this crazy complex machine. But different from a machine because we think and feel and love. But we're also this big fleshy bag of chemicals. So crazy and cool. I love it.