The Real Eve

Tackling head-on the questions of the origins and early migration of the human race, The Real Eve looks at recent research isolating what has commonly become known as the "Eve gene," a genetic marker in our mitochondrial DNA that suggests each of us may be descended from a small group of females--possibly just one. Studying mitochondrial DNA, which is passed from mother to daughter and records our evolutionary progress, scientists are able to put together a picture of our African origins, determine when people first left the continent, and chart humanity's spread throughout Asia, to Australia, Europe, and finally the New World. (Did your ancestors travel through Asia to settle in North America or are you strictly of "European" stock? The answer is literally in your DNA.) Originally airing on the Discovery Channel, this program also details how environment helps shape evolution and create physical differences that are really skin deep (there is considerably more genetic diversity between different subgroups of monkeys than humans). On the minus side, the somewhat overdone dramatizations tended to distract from the hard science, and the program could have been cut by a good half hour without compromising the subject matter. Still, this a fascinating program, overall, and is recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (J. Asala)