More than 35 years ago, Dr. Wallace and his colleagues founded the field of human mitochondrial genetics. The mitochondria are the cellular power plants, organelles that generate most of the cell’s energy. The mitochondria also contain their own DNA, the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which encodes the wiring diagram for the cell’s power plants. Dr. Wallace showed that the mtDNA is inherited exclusively from the mother and that genetic alterations in the mtDNA can result is a wide range of metabolic and degenerative diseases as well as being important in cancer and aging.

‍Below is a big insight I caught after a few lectures I listened by him. It really draws together how the Inner Furnace and the Performance Matrix are interlaced. His work is critical to understanding the significance of mitochondria to health and performance.

Mitochondria function as the biological batteries that produce energy within our body's cells. Depending on which cells have low-functioning mitochondria, mitochondrial disease can cause a wide range of health problems, including fatigue, weakness, exercise intolerance, developmental disabilities, seizures, strokes, vision or hearing loss, growth and feeding difficulties, hormone imbalances, as well as serious problems with heart, liver, or kidney function. On average, people with mitochondrial disease have 16 major medical problems. Researchers are continually working to identify new types of mitochondrial disease, which are now known to result from pathogenic variants in more than 350 different genes, and their various crossroads with other conditions. (Source)

Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chi, and acupuncture might be linked to mitochondria manipulation