We are all Africans and "Eve" is older than "Adam"

Mitochondria, the energy factories of the human cell, have their
own DNA that is transmitted purely from mother to offspring (without any
paternal contribution).  Likewise, the Y chromosome is transmitted purely
from father to male offspring (without any maternal contributions).  Any
mutations in these respective DNA sequences can therefore be used to infer
relatedness between individuals; the more closely related you are, the
more similar the DNA of the mitochondria or the Y choromosome.  This
provides an excellent tool to infer human migration history.  I will
describe the evidence which shows that the mitochondria of all humans
alive today came from a single woman, "Mitochondrial Eve", who lived in
Africa approx. 150,000-200,000 years before the present.  The evolutionary
tree for the Y chromosome reveals that "Y chromosome Adam"  appeared
70,000 years ago.

I will describe the basic biology needed to understand these ideas and
show how they can identify astonishing new connections between diverse
groups such as the European Gypsies, Banjaras from Rajasthan, the Vikings
and the Irish. The talk will be presented at a general level and will be
accessible to non experts.

SPEAKER'S PROFILE: Gyan Bhanot is a professor in Molecular Biology and
Biochemistry & Physics departments at Rutgers University.  Presently he is
a visiting professor at TIFR.  This talk is being presented by special
request and popular demand since most of the TIFR community missed the
"Chai and Why?" version a few weeks ago. Please don't miss an opportunity
to hear this engaging, insightful and stimulating talk!