Robert Kar
Fri, Mar-21-08, 06:18
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Indian DNA Links to 6 'Founding Mothers' template_bas
template_bas By MALCOLM RITTER, AP Science Writer=20
2:14 PM PDT, March 13, 2008=20 NEW YORK -- Nearly all of
today's Native Americans in North, Central and = South
America can trace part of their ancestry to six women whose
= descendants immigrated around 20,000 years ago, a DNA
study suggests.
Those women left a particular DNA legacy that persists to
today in about = 95 percent of Native Americans,
researchers said.
The finding does not mean that only these six women gave rise
to the = migrants who crossed into North America from Asia in
the initial = populating of the continent, said study
co-author Ugo Perego.
The women lived between 18,000 and 21,000 years ago, though
not = necessarily at exactly the same time, he said.
The work was published this week by the journal PLoS One.
Perego is from = the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation
in Salt Lake City and the = University of Pavia in Italy.
The work confirms previous indications of the six maternal
lineages, he = said. But an expert unconnected with the study
said the findings left = some questions unanswered.
Perego and his colleagues traced the history of a particular
kind of DNA = that represents just a tiny fraction of the
human genetic material, and = reflects only a piece of a
person's ancestry.
This DNA is found in the mitochondria, the power plants of
cells. Unlike = the DNA found in the nucleus, mitochondrial
DNA is passed along only by = the mother. So it follows a
lineage that connects a person to his or her = mother, then
the mother's mother, and so on.
The researchers created a "family tree" that traces the
different = mitochondrial DNA lineages found in today's Native
Americans. By noting = mutations in each branch and applying a
formula for how often such = mutations arise, they calculated
how old each branch was. That indicated = when each branch
arose in a single woman.
The six "founding mothers" apparently did not live in Asia
because the = DNA signatures they left behind aren't found
there, Perego said. They = probably lived in Beringia, the
now-submerged land bridge that stetched = to North
America, he said.
Connie Mulligan of the University of Florida, an anthropolgist
who = studies the colonization of the Americas but didn't
participate in the = new work, said it's not surprising to
trace the mitochondrial DNA to six = women. "It's an OK number
to start with right now," but further work may = change it
slightly, she said.
That finding doesn't answer the bigger questions of where
those women = lived, or of how many people left Beringia to
colonize the Americas, she = said Thursday.
The estimate for when the women lived is open to question
because it's = not clear whether the researchers properly
accounted for differing = mutation rates in mitochondrial DNA,
she said. Further work could change = the estimate, "possibly
dramatically," she said.
___
On the Net:
PLoS One: http://www.plosone.org(This version CORRECTS
explanation of = mitochondrial DNA))
Source: The Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com/news/sci-
ence/wire/sns-ap-native-american-dna,1,357= 4987.story
--=20 Posted by Robert Karl Stonjek
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<DIV>
<H1><FONT size=3D5>Indian DNA Links to 6 'Founding
Mothers'</FONT></H1> <DIV id=3Dwrapper_vid></DIV> <DIV
id=3Dwrapper_500> <DIV=20 style=3D"PADDING-RIGHT: 0px;
MARGIN-TOP: 1px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; = PADDING-BOTTOM: 5px;
FONT: 11px Arial; COLOR: #666; PADDING-TOP: 0px; =
BORDER-BOTTOM: #ccc 1px solid"> <DIV style=3D"FONT: 9px
Arial; COLOR: #999; TEXT-ALIGN: =
right">template_bas</DIV> <DIV style=3D"PADDING-BOTTOM:
5px">template_bas</DIV></DIV></DIV> <DIV
class=3Dstorybyline=20 style=3D"MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px;
COLOR: #999999! important">By MALCOLM = RITTER, AP=20
Science Writer <BR>2:14 PM PDT, March 13, 2008 </DIV> <DIV
class=3Dstorybody>NEW YORK -- Nearly all of today's Native
= Americans in=20 North, Central and South America can
trace part of their ancestry to six = women=20 whose
descendants immigrated around 20,000 years ago, a DNA
study=20 suggests.<BR><BR>Those women left a particular
DNA legacy that persists = to today=20 in about 95 percent
of Native Americans, researchers said.<BR><BR>The =
finding=20 does not mean that only these six women gave
rise to the migrants who = crossed=20 into North America
from Asia in the initial populating of the continent, =
said=20 study co-author Ugo Perego.<BR><BR>The women lived
between 18,000 and = 21,000=20 years ago, though not
necessarily at exactly the same time, he =
said.<BR><BR>The=20 work was published this week by the
journal PLoS One. Perego is from the =
Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation in Salt Lake City and
the = University of=20 Pavia in Italy.<BR><BR>The work
confirms previous indications of the six =
maternal lineages, he said. But an expert unconnected with the
study = said the=20 findings left some questions
unanswered.<BR><BR>Perego and his = colleagues traced=20 the
history of a particular kind of DNA that represents just a
tiny = fraction of=20 the human genetic material, and reflects
only a piece of a person's=20 ancestry.<BR><BR>This DNA is
found in the mitochondria, the power plants = of=20 cells.
Unlike the DNA found in the nucleus, mitochondrial DNA is
passed = along=20 only by the mother. So it follows a lineage
that connects a person to = his or her=20 mother, then the
mother's mother, and so on.<BR><BR>The researchers = created
a=20 "family tree" that traces the different mitochondrial DNA
lineages found = in=20 today's Native Americans. By noting
mutations in each branch and = applying a=20 formula for how
often such mutations arise, they calculated how old each =
branch=20 was. That indicated when each branch arose in a
single woman.<BR><BR>The = six=20 "founding mothers"
apparently did not live in Asia because the DNA =
signatures=20 they left behind aren't found there, Perego
said. They probably lived in =
Beringia, the now-submerged land bridge that stetched to North
America, = he=20 said.<BR><BR>Connie Mulligan of the
University of Florida, an = anthropolgist who=20 studies the
colonization of the Americas but didn't participate in the =
new work,=20 said it's not surprising to trace the
mitochondrial DNA to six women. = "It's an=20 OK number to
start with right now," but further work may change it =
slightly, she=20 said.<BR><BR>That finding doesn't answer the
bigger questions of where = those=20 women lived, or of how
many people left Beringia to colonize the = Americas, she=20
said Thursday.<BR><BR>The estimate for when the women lived is
open to = question=20 because it's not clear whether the
researchers properly accounted for = differing=20 mutation
rates in mitochondrial DNA, she said. Further work could
change = the=20 estimate, "possibly dramatically," she
said.<BR><BR>___<BR><BR>On the=20 Net:<BR><BR>PLoS One: <A=20
href=3D"http://www.plosone.org/">http://www.plosone.org</A>(T-
his version = CORRECTS=20 explanation of mitochondrial
DNA))<BR><BR>Source: The Los Angeles = Times<BR><A=20 href=3D-
"http://www.latimes.com/news/science/wire/sns-ap-native-ameri-
can-d= na,1,3574987.story">http://www.latimes.com/news/scienc-
e/wire/sns-ap-nativ= e-american-dna,1,3574987.story</A></DIV>
<DIV class=3Dstorybody> </DIV> <DIV
class=3Dstorybody><BR>-- <BR>Posted by<BR>Robert Karl=20
Stonjek</DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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quoted-printable
Indian DNA Links to 6 'Founding Mothers' template_bas
template_bas By MALCOLM RITTER, AP Science Writer=20
2:14 PM PDT, March 13, 2008=20 NEW YORK -- Nearly all of
today's Native Americans in North, Central and = South
America can trace part of their ancestry to six women whose
= descendants immigrated around 20,000 years ago, a DNA
study suggests.
Those women left a particular DNA legacy that persists to
today in about = 95 percent of Native Americans,
researchers said.
The finding does not mean that only these six women gave rise
to the = migrants who crossed into North America from Asia in
the initial = populating of the continent, said study
co-author Ugo Perego.
The women lived between 18,000 and 21,000 years ago, though
not = necessarily at exactly the same time, he said.
The work was published this week by the journal PLoS One.
Perego is from = the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation
in Salt Lake City and the = University of Pavia in Italy.
The work confirms previous indications of the six maternal
lineages, he = said. But an expert unconnected with the study
said the findings left = some questions unanswered.
Perego and his colleagues traced the history of a particular
kind of DNA = that represents just a tiny fraction of the
human genetic material, and = reflects only a piece of a
person's ancestry.
This DNA is found in the mitochondria, the power plants of
cells. Unlike = the DNA found in the nucleus, mitochondrial
DNA is passed along only by = the mother. So it follows a
lineage that connects a person to his or her = mother, then
the mother's mother, and so on.
The researchers created a "family tree" that traces the
different = mitochondrial DNA lineages found in today's Native
Americans. By noting = mutations in each branch and applying a
formula for how often such = mutations arise, they calculated
how old each branch was. That indicated = when each branch
arose in a single woman.
The six "founding mothers" apparently did not live in Asia
because the = DNA signatures they left behind aren't found
there, Perego said. They = probably lived in Beringia, the
now-submerged land bridge that stetched = to North
America, he said.
Connie Mulligan of the University of Florida, an anthropolgist
who = studies the colonization of the Americas but didn't
participate in the = new work, said it's not surprising to
trace the mitochondrial DNA to six = women. "It's an OK number
to start with right now," but further work may = change it
slightly, she said.
That finding doesn't answer the bigger questions of where
those women = lived, or of how many people left Beringia to
colonize the Americas, she = said Thursday.
The estimate for when the women lived is open to question
because it's = not clear whether the researchers properly
accounted for differing = mutation rates in mitochondrial DNA,
she said. Further work could change = the estimate, "possibly
dramatically," she said.
___
On the Net:
PLoS One: http://www.plosone.org(This version CORRECTS
explanation of = mitochondrial DNA))
Source: The Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com/news/sci-
ence/wire/sns-ap-native-american-dna,1,357= 4987.story
--=20 Posted by Robert Karl Stonjek
------=_NextPart_000_0071_01C88937.47410830 Content-Type:
text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding:
quoted-printable
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=3DContent-Type
content=3D"text/html; = charset=3Diso-8859-1"> <META
content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.3790.1218" name=3DGENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV>
<H1><FONT size=3D5>Indian DNA Links to 6 'Founding
Mothers'</FONT></H1> <DIV id=3Dwrapper_vid></DIV> <DIV
id=3Dwrapper_500> <DIV=20 style=3D"PADDING-RIGHT: 0px;
MARGIN-TOP: 1px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; = PADDING-BOTTOM: 5px;
FONT: 11px Arial; COLOR: #666; PADDING-TOP: 0px; =
BORDER-BOTTOM: #ccc 1px solid"> <DIV style=3D"FONT: 9px
Arial; COLOR: #999; TEXT-ALIGN: =
right">template_bas</DIV> <DIV style=3D"PADDING-BOTTOM:
5px">template_bas</DIV></DIV></DIV> <DIV
class=3Dstorybyline=20 style=3D"MARGIN: 0px 0px 15px;
COLOR: #999999! important">By MALCOLM = RITTER, AP=20
Science Writer <BR>2:14 PM PDT, March 13, 2008 </DIV> <DIV
class=3Dstorybody>NEW YORK -- Nearly all of today's Native
= Americans in=20 North, Central and South America can
trace part of their ancestry to six = women=20 whose
descendants immigrated around 20,000 years ago, a DNA
study=20 suggests.<BR><BR>Those women left a particular
DNA legacy that persists = to today=20 in about 95 percent
of Native Americans, researchers said.<BR><BR>The =
finding=20 does not mean that only these six women gave
rise to the migrants who = crossed=20 into North America
from Asia in the initial populating of the continent, =
said=20 study co-author Ugo Perego.<BR><BR>The women lived
between 18,000 and = 21,000=20 years ago, though not
necessarily at exactly the same time, he =
said.<BR><BR>The=20 work was published this week by the
journal PLoS One. Perego is from the =
Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation in Salt Lake City and
the = University of=20 Pavia in Italy.<BR><BR>The work
confirms previous indications of the six =
maternal lineages, he said. But an expert unconnected with the
study = said the=20 findings left some questions
unanswered.<BR><BR>Perego and his = colleagues traced=20 the
history of a particular kind of DNA that represents just a
tiny = fraction of=20 the human genetic material, and reflects
only a piece of a person's=20 ancestry.<BR><BR>This DNA is
found in the mitochondria, the power plants = of=20 cells.
Unlike the DNA found in the nucleus, mitochondrial DNA is
passed = along=20 only by the mother. So it follows a lineage
that connects a person to = his or her=20 mother, then the
mother's mother, and so on.<BR><BR>The researchers = created
a=20 "family tree" that traces the different mitochondrial DNA
lineages found = in=20 today's Native Americans. By noting
mutations in each branch and = applying a=20 formula for how
often such mutations arise, they calculated how old each =
branch=20 was. That indicated when each branch arose in a
single woman.<BR><BR>The = six=20 "founding mothers"
apparently did not live in Asia because the DNA =
signatures=20 they left behind aren't found there, Perego
said. They probably lived in =
Beringia, the now-submerged land bridge that stetched to North
America, = he=20 said.<BR><BR>Connie Mulligan of the
University of Florida, an = anthropolgist who=20 studies the
colonization of the Americas but didn't participate in the =
new work,=20 said it's not surprising to trace the
mitochondrial DNA to six women. = "It's an=20 OK number to
start with right now," but further work may change it =
slightly, she=20 said.<BR><BR>That finding doesn't answer the
bigger questions of where = those=20 women lived, or of how
many people left Beringia to colonize the = Americas, she=20
said Thursday.<BR><BR>The estimate for when the women lived is
open to = question=20 because it's not clear whether the
researchers properly accounted for = differing=20 mutation
rates in mitochondrial DNA, she said. Further work could
change = the=20 estimate, "possibly dramatically," she
said.<BR><BR>___<BR><BR>On the=20 Net:<BR><BR>PLoS One: <A=20
href=3D"http://www.plosone.org/">http://www.plosone.org</A>(T-
his version = CORRECTS=20 explanation of mitochondrial
DNA))<BR><BR>Source: The Los Angeles = Times<BR><A=20 href=3D-
"http://www.latimes.com/news/science/wire/sns-ap-native-ameri-
can-d= na,1,3574987.story">http://www.latimes.com/news/scienc-
e/wire/sns-ap-nativ= e-american-dna,1,3574987.story</A></DIV>
<DIV class=3Dstorybody> </DIV> <DIV
class=3Dstorybody><BR>-- <BR>Posted by<BR>Robert Karl=20
Stonjek</DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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