What if I told you that there is something capable of ending the lives of every human on earth? Something so dangerous that it could eliminate not just us but every living member of the animal kingdom in a single moment. One wrong move and it could dissolve you, cell by cell, from the inside out. It is microscopic, filled with enzymes, and inside EVERY SINGLE CELL IN YOUR BODY!!
Scared yet? Terrified of the horrifying potential that your cells have? You probably shouldn’t worry too much. You have lived your entire life without a single problem with your lysosomes. Check out this video about them to find out more about how absolutely cool they are.
This video probably has quite a bit more information than you needed to know, but lysosomes are pretty cool. Unfortunately, the complex nature of the enzymes inside the lysosomes make them highly susceptible to problems. Even small mutations in the genetic code that makes the enzymes inside the lysosomes can lead to a number of Lysosomal Storage Disorders, like Tay-Sachs Disease, a highly fatal genetic disorder. The amazing thing is that everything from amoebas to elephants to goldfish use lysosomes in their cells.
I hope you appreciate lysosomes at least half as much as I do. They play a crucial role in recycling old parts of your cells, some organisms use them to digest food from phagocytosis, and they add a little bit of danger to your life, knowing that inside every cell there is a little bit of dynamite.
