Mitochondria in biology and medicine.

Ever since the first diagnosis of a mitochondrial disease in 1959 (Ernster et al., 1959), the interest for mitochondrial cytopathies has continued to increase. Originally it was believed that the condition was very rare and primarily effected high-energy requiring tissues resulting in a select few pathologies (Luft, 1994). Since 1959, the understanding of mitochondrial cytopathies has evolved immensely and mitochondrial cytopathies are now known to be the largest group of metabolic diseases and to be resulting in a wide variety of pathologies. "Mitochondria in Biology and Medicine" was the title of the first annual conference of Society of Mitochondrial Research and Medicine - India. The conference was organized by A. S. Sreedhar, Keshav Singh and Kumarasamy Thangaraj, and was held at The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) Hyderabad, India, during 9-10 December 2011. The conference featured talks from internationally renowned scientists within the field of mitochondrial research and offered both students and fellow researchers a comprehensive update to the newest research within the field. This paper summarizes key outcomes of the presentations.