How Old Is Human DNA?

Genesis 11:8
“So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.”

Mitochondria generate energy inside each of your cells. They have their own DNA, which is passed directly from mother to child. This fact and the known rate at which mitochondrial DNA mutates has led to some conclusions which would be expected by those who accept the biblical history of mankind.

Both creationists and evolutionists who study mitochondrial DNA are agreed on several conclusions. They agree that at some time in the past there was a single dispersal of humankind. They also agree that there are three mitochondrial DNA lines represented in all of mankind. (Evolutionists, however, would not connect these three lines to Noah’s three sons’ wives.)

Both are also agreed that the dispersal of the human population happened fairly recently in the Middle East. The pattern indicates that this dispersal from a common place led to small, related groups or clans moving into new territory. Creationist researchers, seeing a parallel between the agreed-upon scientific conclusions and biblical history, have explored the evidence further.

Human mitochondrial DNA mutates at a known rate. Based on this known rate, the human genome is very young – much younger than evolutionary theory says it should be. It is only thousands of years old.

Prayer:
Father, I thank You that You have loved us so much that You have saved us and given us the Gospel in Your Word. Amen.

Notes:
Acts/Facts, 5/08, p. 6, Larry Vardiman, “Mitochondrial DNA and a Recent Human Origin.” Photo: Electron microscopy of mitochondrial DNA. Courtesy of Francisco J Iborra1, Hiroshi Kimura2 and Peter R Cook. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.