"I've been interested in genetics since I was about ten years old. I read an article about it in a magazine, and I found it had an elegant mathematic simplicity. So we have nuclear DNA and DNA in the cells outside the nucleus, but when the sperm and egg cell come together to form a new being, the sperm is stripped down to a nucleus and a tale basically. So there's no room for mitochondria in the sperm, so all of our mitochondria comes from the mother.
It's a very useful tool for scientists who want to trace the origins and the movements of human populations. It's interesting that the mitochondrial DNA doesn't tell you anything about what the people that carry it look like, but it does sort of give you a sketch of where they came from. I think the fact that I have some knowledge of genetics makes it interesting; and in fact, it answers a lot of question s that I have. And if I had twice as much knowledge of genetics, it might answer twice as many questions.
Bryan Sykes is such an excellent writer, so good at communicating and building a picture. He has a chapter devoted to the seven daughters of Eve. He gives them names; he makes up stories about them.
I think just about anybody could read it and appreciate it if they don't really - if they're not complete technophobes - and I think the people I'd recommend it most would be people who like me know a little bit about genetics and understand the concept of why mitochondrial DNA is significant. I would give it five stars."
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