What the heck does all of this mean, anyway??!?

Starting at the beginning, I'll explain what I'm doing this Interim in detail. I'm studying mitochondrial DNA, also known as mtDNA. Mitochondrial DNA is passed down matrillinearlly; all of the mitochondria in your body are replicas of your mother's mitochondria; all of your father's mitochondria were destroyed at conception.

     Because mitochondrial DNA mutates faster than nuclear DNA, it can be used to trace the history and origin of all human races and ethnicities to the last known common mitochondrial ancestor dubbed "Mitochondrial Eve". Mitochondrial Eve can be pin pointed to Eastern Africa around 170,000 years ago. This does not mean that Mitochondrial Eve was the first person on Earth, as early Homo sapiens evolved around  200,000 years ago. But her mitochondrial lineage is the only one that has survived and extended into the present day. From this ancient line of mtDNA, we can trace the beginning of the human species' migration out of Africa and into all corners of the globe. As humans migrated, the mitochondria they carried with them mutated over the years; as early humans diverged and settled in particular places,so too did their mitochondria diverge and cluster in to certain groups called haplogroups, until people from the same general regions had similar haplogroups.
      These haplogroups are designated by letters (Such as T, H, X, and U) and are groups of people whose haplotype sequence (the mitochondrial sequence of DNA) are very similar. Referring to the image in today's entry, you can see how mitochondrial inheritance works. If You follow the first blue woman, you can see how mitochondrial genes are passed on though the generations. This would be an example of mitochondrial genes in one particular haplogroup. I'm going to determine these haplogroups on Wofford's campus and compare these findings to a survey of my participant's overall perceived heritage.
       DNA Drive is Monday! And unlike our Genetics' lab that we did, I am not having people spit in a cup (ewwww), but rather swabbing their mouths.