Long lost sisters(its kind. It included over 600 complete ...)

MtDNA, inherited down the maternal line, was used in 1987 to discover the age of the famous Mitochondrial Eve, the most recent common female ancestor of everyone alive today. This work has since been extended to show unequivocally that Mitochondrial Eve was an African woman who lived sometime during the past 200,000 years.

Recent data suggests that Eastern Africa went through a series of massive droughts between 90,000 and 135,000 years ago. It is possible that this climate shift contributed to the population splits. What is surprising is the length of time the populations were separate for as much as half of our entire history as a species.

Dr. Spencer Wells, director of the Genographic Project and Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society, said, "This new study illustrates the extraordinary power of genetics to reveal insights into some of the key events in our species' history. Tiny bands of early humans, forced apart by harsh environmental conditions, coming back from the brink to reunite and populate the world. Truly an epic drama, written in our DNA."

Adds Rosset, Israelis and Jews are always curious about looking into their roots. Just in this study, we were digging deeper than we normally do.

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