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- 01The study used only mitochondrial DNA, which passes exclusively through mothers — 'Eve' had a contemporary male counterpart, 'Y-chromosomal Adam,' who lived roughly 60,000 years later.
- 02The name 'Mitochondrial Eve' was coined by journalist James Wainscoat, not the scientists; lead author Allan Wilson publicly disliked it.
- 03Eve was not the only woman alive at the time — she was simply the last woman whose unbroken maternal line survives today.