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

[n2doc]

ScienceDaily (Aug. 17, 2010) — 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.

The research is available online in the journal Theoretical Population Biology.

"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.

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100817122405.htm

The Young Earthers aren't going to like this....

[HughBeaumont]

1. If YECretins choose to refute science to believe a fairy tale, that's THEIR problem.

When that kind of rhetoric starts creeping into Congressional doors (for a select handful, it already HAS), that's OUR problem.

[greyl]

2. They fouled up the title. It should say "All Modern Humans",

since humans have been around for a few million years.

[n2doc]

3. You're right

corrected here, at least

[zipplewrath]

4. It did say all "living" humans

I presume that you don't think there are living humans that aren't "modern". Well, except maybe a few in the Bush family.

[RaleighNCDUer]

5. OTOH, they may fit the 'modern' - just not the 'human'. nt

[greyl]

9. Not in the title, it didn't.

Don't be presumptuous. ;)

[The Philosopher]

6. Shouldn't it be 150,000 years ago?

;-)

[Occulus]

7. I listened to a podcast about this just last night

It's amazing how small a population they've traced the mitochondrial DNA back to. Even more amazing is that we survived at all as a species....

[EmilyKent]

8. If you look for an 'Eve',

you'll tend to find one.