mitochondria--as shanks point out, have their own DNA-- and--everyone inherits their mother's dna (the male sperm only caries 'human dna'--so mitochondria are very useful now for tracing 'family lines' and 'genetic history'

they 'change/mutate' less then human DNA, do changes/mutations can be used to trace histories of populations.. (there was a claim some year ago of 12 or so 'eve's'--that by tracing the changes back, its clear that there were very few original woman who's genitic liniage is still in existance.. what ever, the original number of 'eve's', only 12 still have desendents alive today--or so mitochondria dna suggests.

(history of the male side of humankind can be traced through genetic changes on the Y chromisome.)


my other obsession