Moms Are More Important Than You Think

All humans have 46 chromosomes, this comprises and individualizes their DNA.  But there is also a different kind of DNA in every person, mitochondrial DNA.  This DNA is not a combination of your mom and dads genes, this DNA comes directly and only from your mom.  Mitochondria contain this type of DNA and within each mitochondria there are multiple copies of their individual genome.  The genome consists of 37 genes that the mom contributes to their child.  This means that the only way for there to be genetic variation in the mitochondrial DNA is through genetic mutations. 

Mitochondria are one of the essential organelles in a cell.  The mitochondrial DNA is involved with the production of energy and its storage as ATP.  The mitochondrial DNA's genome was mapped long before the human genome project, it was mapped in 1981.  By following the passing on of mitochondrial DNA scientists can conclude when our last known common ancestor was.  They concluded that the common ancestor of all man derived from a woman (mitochondrial Eve) born around 200,000 years ago in Africa.

After our results from the PCR and gel electrophoresis we concluded that we all have mitochondrial DNA.  It was cool to see because I had the darkest band out of our table so I argued that they are not true people.  Naddy got angry and it was great.  But in the end we found through this lab that we all have mitochondrial DNA in our bodies showing that it is different from the DNA we have obtained in labs in the past.

 Look at that gorgeous dark band in the second row. That is me proving I have superior DNA to the rest of my table.

i like to poop

- Nathan Meyer Vance