'Mitochondrial Eve': Mother of All Humans Lived 200,000 Years Ago

ScienceDaily staff ^ | August 17, 2010 | materials provided by Rice U

[SunkenCiv]

The most robust statistical examination to date of our species' genetic links to "mitochondrial Eve" -- the maternal ancestor of all living humans -- confirms that she lived about 200,000 years ago. The Rice University study was based on a side-by-side comparison of 10 human genetic models that each aim to determine when Eve lived using a very different set of assumptions about the way humans migrated, expanded and spread across Earth... "Our findings underscore the importance of taking into account the random nature of population processes like growth and extinction," said study co-author Marek Kimmel, professor of statistics at Rice. "Classical, deterministic models, including several that have previously been applied to the dating of mitochondrial Eve, do not fully account for these random processes." The quest to date mitochondrial Eve (mtEve) is an example of the way scientists probe the genetic past to learn more about mutation, selection and other genetic processes that play key roles in disease... For example, the way scientists attempt to date mtEve relies on modern genetic techniques. Genetic profiles of random blood donors are compared, and based upon the likenesses and differences between particular genes, scientists can assign a number that describes the degree to which any two donors are related to one another.

[PLMerite]

“The ending to me was the biggest letdown of a TV show that I can ever remember.”

I liked the idea that some of the cylons were agents of God, but yeah, having the humans just give up at the end was a shame. It often strikes me that the plotlines for these shows aren’t well thought out. You’d think for all the money these writers get they’d do better.

[wally_bert]

Should have gotten some Brits on the writing staff.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

I will wait for the rebuttal and peer review.

I'll wait for the background checks on the scientists and reviewers.

[Omedalus]

Good point. It’s not necessary for them to have died out, but merely only bred with females from the mitochondrial Eve line. Presumably this was one highly attractive lady! :)

How exactly do mitochondria pass from the father? There’s not enough room in a sperm cell to fit a mitochondrion. (Not that I don’t believe you; I’m just curious about the mechanism by which it happens.)

[muawiyah]

Everybody is curious. The existence of the phenomenon is frequently mentioned.

[colorado tanker]

I suppose she had a girlish figure something like these:

[SunkenCiv]

“She had so many children her uterus fell out.” — Diceman