Tuesday 21 October 2003
For immediate release
Announcement by the Royal Society of New Zealand
Pete Hodgson's Ancestral Mother: Tara, Xenia, Katrine, Jasmine, Velda, Helena, or Ursula?
On Thursday night, 23 October, at the UNESCO NZ Science lecture in Dunedin by Professor Bryan Sykes, some of New
Zealand's top scientists will find out which "daughter of Eve" they are descended from. And lecture goers will have the
chance to discover their own Stone Age tribal mother, if they can guess the correct result for Minister of Research,
Science and Technology, Hon Pete Hodgson. The Prize of a free mitochondrial DNA test will be drawn from the correct
entries.
The mitochondrial DNA tests carried out by Bryan Sykes' company, Oxford Ancestors, have been replicated by the
University of Otago's Genetics Programme and Centre for Gene Research on DNA samples supplied by Minister Pete Hodgson;
the Chair of the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO, Margaret Austin; winner of the 2003 Rutherford Medal for
Science and Technology, Emeritus Professor George Petersen; the Deputy Mayor of Dunedin, Dame Elizabeth Hanan; the
President-Elect of the Royal Society Academy Council, Professor Carolyn Burns; and four of the newly elected Fellows of
the Royal Society of New Zealand: Professors Robin Smith, Alison Mercer, Rosalind Gibson, and Dr Allan Crawford. With
one exception, the results will be announced following the lecture. The Minister's result will be announced, along with
the winner of the competition, in the Otago Daily Times the following day.
A new service offered by Oxford Ancestors involves the line of DNA inherited down the male line - the Y chromosome.
Professor George Petersen, New Zealand's 'father of DNA', will also find out through this test whether he has Viking
ancestry. Knowledge of molecular genetics has heralded a whole new age of genealogy, and the Royal Society of New
Zealand is pleased to announce a series of lectures by the best-selling author who spearheaded much of this work,
Professor Bryan Sykes of Oxford University. There will also be a book signing by Professor Sykes at the Otago Museum
from 1.00pm-2.00pm on Thursday 23 October.
Professor Sykes is able to use the nucleotide sequence of mitochondrial DNA, which is inherited solely through the
female line, to create an evolutionary framework going back 150,000 years. The framework reveals that almost everyone in
Europe, or whose maternal roots are in Europe, is descended from one of only seven "daughters of Eve". Each of these
women founded a maternal clan whose descendants make up well over 95% of modern Europeans. Eve was the original mother
of all modern humans who lived in Africa c150,000 years ago. At his lectures around New Zealand Professor Sykes will
look at how the study of mitochondrial DNA demolished any scientific basis for racism, revised our knowledge of the
colonisation of the Pacific, and changed how we viewed Homo sapiens' settlement of Europe, a continent once dominated by
the Neanderthals.
Professor Sykes has come to New Zealand as The University of Auckland Sir Douglas Robb lecturer for 2003. The Royal
Society, in partnership with the British High Commission and British Council New Zealand, is hosting additional lectures
in Dunedin (with UNESCO), Christchurch, Nelson, Wellington and Palmerston North as part of the celebrations of the 50th
anniversary of the discovery of the structure of DNA. The lectures are free, but to be assured of a seat at the
lectures, those interested should email the addresses given below with the city in the subject line and their postal
details in the body of the message:
Dunedin - UNESCO SCIENCE LECTURE (no tickets are left for this lecture, but there may be a few seats available on the
night) 5.30 p.m. Thursday, 23 October, St David Lecture Theatre, University of Otago, Cumberland St. Tickets from
sykesdunedin@rsnz.org
Christchurch 8.00 p.m. Thursday, 6 November, C1 Lecture Theatre, University of Canterbury, Entrance off Creyke Rd.
Tickets from sykeschristchurch@rsnz.org
Nelson 7.30 p.m., Tuesday, 11 November, Nelson School of Music, 48 Nile St. Tickets from sykesnelson@rsnz.org
Wellington 7.00 p.m. Monday, 17 November, Soundings Theatre, Te Papa, Tickets from: sykeswellington@rsnz.org
Palmerston North - Allan Wilson Centre Lecture Series 5.30 p.m., refreshments served from 5.00 p.m. Tuesday, 18
November, Japanese Lecture Theatre, Massey University. Tickets from: sykespalmerston@rsnz.org
ENDS