The endlessly turning wheels of oxidation within the mitochondria would turn to little purpose if it were not for this all-important result. The energy produced at each stage of the oxidative cycle is in a form familiarly spoken of by the biochemists as ATP (adenosine triphosphate), a molecule containing three phosphate groups. The role of ATP in furnishing energy comes from the fact that it can transfer one of its phosphate groups to other substances, along with the energy of its bonds of electrons shuttling
