Finding Eve

Approximately 150, 000 years ago, a woman in east Africa gave birth to a daughter that would provide the genetic material of every person currently alive on the face of the planet. This woman is our oldest known ancestor, and thus has been dubiously named Mitochondrial Eve. This amazing piece of news was discovered in the mid-1980s by a team headed by Allan Wilson[pic], a geneticist at the University of California, Berkeley who conducted a study by gathering samples of mitochondrial DNA from around the world. Wilson went on to conclude that the origin of humans “stem from one woman who is postulated to have lived about 200,000 years ago, probably in Africa” (Zimmer, 2001). The Wilson study was conducted almost 20 years ago, and forensics at the time were unable to pinpoint the exact location of Mitochondrial Eve. However, a recent genetics study was conducted that is suggesting that Eve was from Tanzonia or Ethiopia. (article)

Eve came before Adam?

(bbc.com)

“Europeans all shared markers that no one else did, while Asians had unique markers of their own. Wilson’s team also found that Asians and Europeans shared certain other markers that Africans lacked. By grouping people on the basis of their markers, Wilson’s team was able to construct an evolutionary pattern for humanity. The branches that sprouted closest to the base of the tree were all African lineages, suggesting that mitochondrial DNA in all humans living today descended from an African woman” (Zimmer, 2001).

So, wait ... why is this all important??

q The genes in mitochondria are “loaded with historical information that other genes lack” (Zimmer, 2001).

q Science’s rapid advancement in genetics has allowed us to see evolutionary patterns at a molecular level.

q Being able to trace ancestral lineages of the human species through DNA testing can help in further solidifying Darwin’s theory of Evolution!!

Above is a painting depicting the evolution of man

(google.com)