15 March, 2006

MITOCHONDRIAL KIND OF GAL

I have to admit to frequenting many shady chatrooms while in cyberspace. Sometimes you can find good discussion, if yer lucky. It was in one of these rooms where a debate on evolution raged, and where I first heard someone refer to mitochondria as an alternative origin for mankind. Perhaps some of you are rechecking that sentence to see if I said mitochondria and not something similar like ... well I dunno. I didn't know at the time either, so I chalked it up to my misinterpreting what was typed. So fast forward to a day or so later, in a room designated for Religious discussion. A die-hard Christian came in and began proclaiming evidence for his faith and sited, among other things, Mitochondreal Eve. Proof that all of humanity comes from a single source? Meaning one person?? I had to investigate.

But first, so you understand my confusion, when I heard the word mitochondria I was reminded of high school biology and not paying a bit of attention to it. I vaguely recalled hearing the word, so I looked it up. These are single celled organellas, part of a larger structure but no less important, responsible for food distribution and conversion to energy. While I believe we and all life evolved from a very small start, I felt a discussion of evolution where mitochondria are argued against primates was a bit pointless. If either didn't exist, neither would we. Then came that term Mitochondrial Eve.

Oxymoronically enough, this "Eve" was part of a magazine article in Nature, "Mitochondrial DNA and Human Evolution", (1987). Researchers suggested our inheretance of mitochondrial genetic material could be traced back to a single woman, nicknamed Eve by those involved, supposed to have lived 200 or so thousand years ago in Africa. It does not suggest there was one woman that all of human history sprang from. Further, the evidence and conclusions drawn from that study were mere compelling hypothesis, challenged to this day.

So I return to the two instances where the reference was made. The former, from a friend and EMT nurse practitioner, I have yet to see him again to clarify the point. Yet I will further assert to him that, while mitochondria gave humanity a good chance for survival, so did other organisms in our bodies. That doesn't even touch on the neurophysiological traits that furthered us along. If I am in error here and someone knows more on this subject, please post.

As for the latter instance, the ramblings of a Christian non-apologist, this is yet another instance where that sort of mentality stops after hearing what it wants to. Perhaps there was a lovely soundbite on the news where "Eve ... genetic material... found to be trace back to single source ... Africa, 200,000 BC" and he wet himself with praise. Taking the entire article into consideration would show that for there to be a single source of mitochondria, there had to be a pool of many who did not possess it. Thus the miracle of Eve (under review).

I'm sorry, I know that last bit sounds katty, but you do it to yerselves. Made for some good research though, so thanks.

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