There is no biblical significance in the use of this name. When scientists discovered that we all ultimately trace our maternal ancestry back to one woman she was immediately dubbed 'Mitochondrial Eve' by the popular press. Even though the name was no doubt chosen because of the familiarity of the name Eve from the Bible, the scientific discovery does not confirm the biblical context of Eve. The Y-chromosome contains a gene that directs the development of a human embryo along the pathway to becoming male. As long as this gene is working properly, any human embryo which has a Y-chromosome will grow into a baby boy.
Men produce two types of sperm in equal amounts.
The eggs produced by women have only X-chromosomes. Fertilised eggs have either two X-chromosomes, and become girls, or one X and one Y and become boys. Back to top Can paternal lines be traced back using Y-chromosomes to a small number of men, in the same way that tracing mitochondrial DNA identified the Seven Daughters of Eve. Y-chromosomes can in theory be used to identify a small number of common male ancestors. When we are confident that everyone in the scientific community agrees on the way that this is done, Oxford Ancestors will be offering this service, so keep watching our website.