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Science 24 December 1999:
Vol. 286. no. 5449, p. 2436
DOI: 10.1126/science.286.5449.2436a
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News of the Week

HUMAN GENETICS:
mtDNA Shows Signs of Paternal Influence

Evelyn Strauss

Biologists have long thought that the DNA of the cellular organelles called mitochondria passes intact from mother to child with no paternal influence. On page 2524, however, researchers find signs of mixing between maternal and paternal mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in humans and chimpanzees. Because biologists have used mtDNA as a tool to trace human ancestry and relationships, the finding has implications for everything from the identification of bodies to the existence of a "mitochondrial Eve" 200,000 years ago.

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)