Mitochondrial Eve - Statistics Study Says Mother Of Modern Humans Lived 200,000 Years Ago
Tuesday, August 17, 2010 - 11:21
in Paleontology & Archaeology
A new Rice University study's side-by-side comparison of 10 human genetic models to determine when 'mitochondrial Eve'(mtEve), the maternal ancestor of all living humans, lived uses a very different set of assumptions about the way humans migrated, expanded and spread across Earth - and it won't be without some controversy. Mitochondrial Eve studies are an example of how scientists probe the genetic past to learn more about mutation, selection and other genetic processes that play key roles in disease but deterministic models may not be enough, says the new study. Statisticians to the rescue. read more