Mitochondrial Eve (novelette)

Last updated
"Mitochondrial Eve"
Short story by Greg Egan
Country Australia
Language English
Genre(s) Science fiction
Publication
Published in Interzone
Publication type Periodical
PublisherTTA Press
Media typePrint
Publication dateFebruary 1995

"Mitochondrial Eve" is a science-fiction novelette by Australian writer Greg Egan, first published in Interzone #92 in February 1995. The novelette was included in the anthology The Best of Interzone in 1997 and in the collection Luminous in 1998. [1] [2]

Contents

Plot

Paul and Lena visit an exhibition in which they see current research to trace back the ancestors of modern humans who are all related to each other. A group called Children of Eve plans to trace back a common female ancestor of all Europeans, called Eve, since male lineages are lost more quickly due to polygamy. Paul and Lena discuss the involvement of quantum effects in the duplication of DNA and intend to do further research to apply it to genetic tracing. Many years later, an opposing group claims to have found a common male ancestor of all Europeans called Adam. Paul and Lena meet in London to witness this launching multiple claims about other common ancestors as well as violent eruptions fueled by racist defenses of them. Paul gets beaten up for his research for the Children of Eve, but later, even against witnesses trying to shout him down, still presents the new research revealing that there in fact is no single common ancestor. Paul finishes by screaming at the crowd to do what is right because it is right, and not because what their lineage is. [3]

Translation

The novelette was translated into Japanese by Makoto Yamagishi (1997), Italian (2001), French by Francis Lustman and Quarante-Deux (2007) and Spanish by Carlos Pavón (2010). [1]

Reception

Reviews

Karen Burnham writes in Greg Egan (Masters of Science Fiction) about the novelette as an example that "many Egan characters are professional scientists as understood today". She adds that it "directly addresses the conflict between science and religion" since it "takes a stand against religious appropriation of scientific results."

Awards

The novelette won the Japanese Seiun Award in 1998. [4] [5]

Literature

Related Research Articles

Greg Egan is an Australian science fiction writer and mathematician, best known for his works of hard science fiction. Egan has won multiple awards including the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, the Hugo Award, and the Locus Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitochondrial Eve</span> Matrilineal most recent common ancestor of all living humans

In human genetics, the Mitochondrial Eve is the matrilineal most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of all living humans. In other words, she is defined as the most recent woman from whom all living humans descend in an unbroken line purely through their mothers and through the mothers of those mothers, back until all lines converge on one woman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Y-chromosomal Adam</span> Patrilineal most recent common ancestor of all living humans

In human genetics, the Y-chromosomal most recent common ancestor is the patrilineal most recent common ancestor (MRCA) from whom all currently living humans are descended. He is the most recent male from whom all living humans are descended through an unbroken line of their male ancestors. The term Y-MRCA reflects the fact that the Y chromosomes of all currently living human males are directly derived from the Y chromosome of this remote ancestor. The analogous concept of the matrilineal most recent common ancestor is known as "Mitochondrial Eve", the most recent woman from whom all living humans are descended matrilineally. As with "Mitochondrial Eve", the title of "Y-chromosomal Adam" is not permanently fixed to a single individual, but can advance over the course of human history as paternal lineages become extinct.

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In biology and genetic genealogy, the most recent common ancestor (MRCA), also known as the last common ancestor (LCA), of a set of organisms is the most recent individual from which all the organisms of the set are descended. The term is also used in reference to the ancestry of groups of genes (haplotypes) rather than organisms.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Bibliography". 2024-04-09. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  2. ↑ "Summary Bibliography: Greg Egan" . Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  3. ↑ "חוה המיטוכונדרית" . Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  4. ↑ "星雲賞受賞作・参考候補作一覧" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  5. ↑ "Greg Egan Awards Summary". 2023-10-15. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
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