4 ms·

Note that the article never specifically talks about propagating genes, just about being an ancestor. No matter how many generations you go back, there will be

by brlewis 14y ago

Note that the article never specifically talks about propagating genes, just about being an ancestor. No matter how many generations you go back, there will be at most 46 ancestors in that generation whose genes a descendant has, and only one ancestor's mitochondrial DNA.

d2vid 14y ago
Not true regarding 46 ancestors - chromosomal DNA is swapped between the homologous chromosomes during meiosis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiosis#Prophase_I http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiosis#Prophase_I You are correct about mitochondrial DNA.