Saturday, March 9, 2013
Human Y chromosome much older than previously thought
A man who submitted his DNA to Family Tree DNA was found to not contain the same human Y chromosome as others, pushing back the age of the human race to 338,000 years old. This article begins by explaining exactly what is meant by Y chromosome and most recent common ancestor. It explains that the Y chromosome does not often exchange genetic material, making it one of the easiest chromosomes to determine family tree lines. The man who submitted his DNA did not contain this common Y chromosome which prompted further research which led to the discovery that there is a small group of men in Cameroon who share this man's DNA. This knowledge leads scientists to determine that the cross species "father" of modern man existed 200,000 years previously.
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I found a few themes of science in this article. The first is collaboration. The commercial genetics company was unable to figure out where the individual's DNA traced to, so they sent it to a research facility and people at the University of Arizona were able to find the connection in Cameroon. Another is that science is tentative. This new finding upset lots of what had been previously thought and so new evidence can always come and disagree with our current theories.
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