This site provides biochemical methods and computer tools to allow students to use their own DNA "fingerprints" as a starting point in the study of human evolution. Two experiments are currently available, which are supported by reagents and ready-to-use kits available from Carolina Biological Supply Company.

Mitochondrial (mt) Point Mutations are single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) detected in the ring-shaped chromosome found in the cell's energy-producing organelle. Mutations are common in mt DNA, in large part due to exposure to oxygen free radicals generated as a by-product of respiration. Mitochondrial mutations can be used to retrace the common maternal lineage of modern humans and to determine our relationship to the extinct hominid Neandertal.