Anakin: “Master, Sir... I heard Yoda talking about midi-chlorians. I’ve been wondering: What are midi-chlorians?”
Qui-Gon Jinn: “Midi-chlorians are a microscopic life form that resides within all living cells”.
Anakin: “They live inside me?”
Qui-Gon Jinn: “Inside your cells, yes. And we are symbionts with them.”
Anakin: “Symbionts?”
Qui-Gon Jinn: “Life forms living together for mutual advantage. Without midi-chlorians, life could not exist and we would have no knowledge of the Force. They continually speak to us, telling us the will of the Force. When you learn to quiet your mind, you’ll hear them speaking to you.”1
In the first Episode of George Lucas’s Star Wars saga we see Master Qui-Gon Jinn lecturing the young Anakin Skywalker about a microscopic life form that resides within the cells of all living beings. Fans of George Lucas’s amazing tales through the last several decades have frequently discovered that the described distant galaxy is, much of the time, very similar to our own planet Earth. The organisms called midi-chlorians described above are no exception. The next paragraphs were written with the intent to show this fact, based on scientific biological evidence and comparisons with real cell organelles that all of us carry in each of our cells.
To gain a better understanding of the analogy that is the subject of this paper, there is a need to explain basic facts of biology, particularly related to cell biology.
All living beings have a base element in the tissues that constitute the organism -- the cell. From a structural point of view, there are two types of cells: the eucaryotic (present in animals and plants) and the procaryotic (which can be found in more simple life forms, like bacteria). Residing in the eucaryotic cell’s cytoplasm are the cell organelles called mitochondria (in animals) and chloroplast (in plants).
These little microscopic organisms actually live in a symbiotic relationship with our cells, resembling the relationship related by Master Qui-Gon Jinn. Without them, life as we know it could not exist. From here, a very reasonable question may be asked: How can we talk about a symbiotic relationship when, apparently, we basically have cell structures “doing their job”? Well, according to several authors, there is considerable evidence that bacteria may have played an unexpected role in the evolution of eucaryotic cells. It is thought that at some stage in evolution, bacteria invaded a primitive eucaryotic cell. Instead of causing harm, the bacteria provided respiratory (in animals) and photosynthetic (in plants) abilities previously lacking in the cell. Both benefited from this association and each gradually became dependent on the other. The bacteria eventually changed to become mitochondria and chloroplast, which are responsible for respiration and photosynthesis, respectively. The idea of a procaryotic origin for eucaryotic organelles is know as the Endosymbiotic Theory.2 According to this statement, we have microscopic life forms that, for no explainable reason, invaded cells and adapted themselves to this new environment with such success that, nowadays they are actually living as one single individual together with the cell. In George Lucas’s galaxy, the reason for the symbiotic relationship that living organisms have with midi-chlorians is not explained either. Probably because this event took place long before anyone could have recorded it; it is likely as ancient as life itself. Therefore, it can be logical to assume that it happened in a similar way as on Earth. Call it Nature or the Will of the Force.
Another piece of biological evidence that supports the Endosymbiotic theory is the organelle’s structure itself, which by analogy can be applied to the midi-chlorians. Although mitochondria are organelles of eucaryotic cells, they resemble procaryotic cells in several ways. For instance, they contain their own ribossomes, which are procaryotic type. They also contain their own DNA, which, like procaryotic DNA, is a single circular double-stranded molecule. Mitochondria divide to form new mitochondria in much the same way that a procaryotic cell divides, and they divide independently of the cell nucleus (however, they are unable to divide if they are removed from the cytoplasm).2 By this behavior we realize that even within the cell, these organelles behave themselves as different individuals but, on the other hand, they can not survive independently.
Nevertheless, a direct relationship is shown in the movies between the midi-chlorian count in someone’s cells and that person’s predisposition to acquire Jedi abilities. To support this we can see Obi-Wan Kenobi’s astonished reaction when he realizes that Anakin’s count is at a higher level than Yoda’s in Star Wars's first episode, The Phantom Menace.
Activities in a cell require energy, whether for macromolecular synthesis or for transport of substances through or out of the cytoplasm. Mitochondria are cytoplasmatic organelles where energy-rich molecules of adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP) are generated during a biochemical process called Aerobic Respiration. Because of this function, the mitochondria are called “power houses” of eucaryotic cells.2 So, the mitochondria provide animals the energy required for all cell activities. These activities also include the basic ones, like breathing, the heart beat, muscular contractions, etc. To sum up, life would never be possible the way we know it, if it not for the cell organelle’s functions, simply because our organisms would not be able to acquire the necessary energy to perform basic and vital functions. The fuel molecules (such as glucose) that result from partial degradation of food enter mitochondria, whose primary function is to convert the potential chemical energy of fuel molecules into a form that the cell can use: the energy rich molecule called ATP. Mitochondria are the cell’s power plants.3
In Star Wars, the Force is referred to multiple times as a source of energy that surrounds us everywhere. According to Master Qui-Gon, when at peace a Jedi can hear the midi-chlorians. Assuming the midi-chlorians have similar functions in the Star Wars galaxy to the mitochondria functions in planet Earth, a Jedi can become one with the Force and communicate with these cell’s energy providers. Analyzing this fact, it no longer becomes surprising where the Jedi extract the energy to, for an example, challenge gravity when it is required. On this basis, the use of the Force for this physical purpose could be explained from a biological point of view, resulting from the midi-chlorians direct action, under the influence of this sort of communication with their symbiotic partner. This brings an all-new meaning to the sentence, “Use the Force."
Apart from all that has been said, one gap can be found in George Lucas’s story. In the movies we are lead to believe that the Force is an inherited character trait. Luke Skywalker, when revealing the truth to his sister Leia says: “The Force is strong in my family. My father has it, I have it...” making the viewers understand that it passes from father to child.4 In the prequels, this idea is strengthened on Tatooine when, realizing Anakin’s predisposition to the Force, Master Qui-Gon asks his mother Shmi about Anakin’s father’s origins, trying to find a reasonable explanation for the boy’s relationship to the Force.
When it comes to the cell organelles, due to the fact that the eggs of most species contain large amounts of cytoplasm, and sperm contain almost no cytoplasm, the mitochondria in a zygote come from the cytoplasm of the female parent’s egg, even though half the zygote is nuclear chromosomes come from the male parent.3 This is commonly known as Maternal Inheritance. Because most of the mitochondria in the zygote come from the egg, most of the mitochondria in the developing animal will be derived from its mother.3 So, here we have a disagreement regarding the biological similarity between midi-chlorians in the Star Wars galaxy and our own cell organelles. If an analogy were to be made relating to this fact, it would be more reasonable that the Force’s inheritance would mostly occur from the mother to her offspring rather than from the father.
Nevertheless, it is also said that chloroplast and mitochondria are complex organelles and only a minority of their functions is maternally inherited.3 From this statement, it is understood that the organelles' functions do not depend grandiosely on progenitors but rather on the individual they are one with, and more particularly on its needs. Making the comparison with Star Wars, the midi-chlorians' functions, resulting in the expressing of the Force in an individual, may result from a small dose of parental legacy combined with a major portion of the individual character they are symbiotic with. Adding that with the Force's ability to chose the ones most suitable to perform the task and we have the Jedi.
To sum up, it is obvious that George Lucas has taken a perfect terrestrial biological fact and transported it to his (not so) make-believe galaxy. Even the word midi-chlorian has the prefix chlor- as in chloroplast. He added a little bit of mythology, directly connecting the midi-chlorians as physical agents of the Force, and came up with the source for a basic explanation to the physical stunts performed by the Jedi, which have been, so far, impossible to explain, from a scientific point of view. Until now.
Works Cited:
1. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
2. Michael J. Pelzcar, Jr.; E.C.S. Chan; Noel R. Krieg; (1993) Microbiology -- Concepts and Applications McGraw-Hill, Inc.; First edition; USA
3. William K. Purves; Gordon H. Orians; H. Craig Heller; David Sadava (1998) Life -- The Science of Biology; Sinaver Associates, Inc.; W.H. Freeman and Company; Fifth Edition
4. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
Trudy Mckee; James R. Mckee (1996) Biochemestry -- an Introduction; Wm C. Brown Publishers; McGraw-Hill; USA.
Anthony J. F. Griffiths; Jeffery H. Miller; David T. Suzuki; Richard C. Lewentin; William M. Gelbart (2000) An Introduction to Genetic Analysis; W.H. Freeman and Company; Seventh Edition; New York; USA.
