Seven Daughters of Eve

the seven daughters of Eve (in English The Seven Daughters off Eve ) is a Essai biologist English Bryan Sykes.

Genetics

Thanks to the Genetic , Bryan Sykes, professor with Oxford, propose to reconstitute the genealogy of Europeans. It presents in this book the theory of the genetics mitochondriale. Sykes explains the principles of the genetics and the human evolution, the characteristics of the genetics mitochondriale and the way in which he managed to analyze fossil DNA.

Investigation and theory

In the Seven Daughters of Eve , he tells his investigation which starts with the frozen corpse of Ötzi, dating of more than 5.000 years, found in the Austrian Alps in 1991. The study is completed with the description of seven lines leading to seven original women, poetically baptized Ursula (Greece), Xénia (the Caucasus), Héléna (the Pyrenees), Velda (Spain), Tara (Toscane), Katrine (Venezia) and Jasmine (Syria), going back to 8.000 to 45.000 years.

The DNA mitochondrial

The study is based on the use of DNA mitochondrial (DNA MT), a molecule present in all the human cells. Contrary to nuclear DNA, inherited the two parents, the DNA MT is only transmitted by the mother. This molecule counts only 16.500 basic pairs and appears very stable. Throughout the history of humanity, it is transmitted mothers as girls. By extracting the DNA from Ötzi, Sykes concludes with the similarity from the sequences with those from the DNA from contemporary Europeans. He exerts also his science on the identification of the remainders of the Romanov and on the settlement of the Polynésie. He works then on the prehistoric Généalogie of Europeans.

Human migrations

After developments of the genetics, Sykes recalls the human migrations, discusses apart from the theory the source Africa and question the theory Thor Heyerdahl on the origin the Polynesians. The title of the book comes from one of the principal achievements of the genetics mitochondriale, which is the classification of all the human modern ones in several lines mitochondriales . Each line can be traced according to a maternal line carrying out of a person to a specific prehistoric woman, according to the expression of Sykes " a mother of clan ". All these women have in their turn divided a common ancestor. The theories of Sykes lead to seven lines mitochondriales for Europeans (however others raise the number with 11 or 12) and thus speaks to him about the " seven girls of Ève". Indexing resemblances and differences, holding an erudite accountancy of the changes making it possible to go up the centuries, Bryan Sykes arrives at a first conclusion going against the dominant theory for the settlement of prehistoric Europe. Up to now, one told us downward first farmers come from the the Middle East, colonizing little by little our continent, a expensive thesis with Luca Cavalli-Sforza, a famous geneticist of the populations.

Life of the mothers

The study of the DNA MT makes go up our lines with the Chasseurs-cueilleurs, present since much longer on this vast territory. Among the “ seven daughters of Eve ”, only one, Jasmine , young person (8 000 years), born with the the Middle East, belongs to the group of the first farmers. Second half of the book tells a series of fictitious accounts, written by Sykes, telling the lives of each of the seven mothers.

Clans

“Today, known as Bryan Sykes, from 95 to 97% of Europeans are connected to the one of the seven clans. ” The descendants of Héléna (47%) and of Jasmine (17%) are most numerous. One finds members of six clans in all the parts of Europe. That of Jasmine is more localized. The Basques, for example, do not show in this study an original genetic characteristic. This work does not achieve the unanimity in the scientific world, and the talents of storyteller of Bryan Sykes aggravate of them more one.

Prolongation

In 2000, B. Sykes created the company Oxford Ancestors with its university: starting from some cells autoprélevées inside the cheek, it makes it possible each and everyone to know to which clan he belongs. The customers, mainly of Great Britain and the the United States, go there to find their prehistoric roots.

External bond

a short report of the book by allreaders.com

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