In a message dated 8/29/2002 12:37:57 PM Pacific Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: > > (Note: Women do not carry the Y-chromosome. So the absence of women in "Y" > surname studies is not sexist or discriminatory: It is just a fact of > genetic > life. As the science of DNA advances, it may in the future be possible to > do > useful DNA surname studies with female subjects. But unfortunately, not > yet.) Maternal lines could potentially be traced through mitochondrial RNA. You may recall from high school biology that the mitochondria are the "powerhouse" of cells. They always come from the mother. Someone will start doing it at some point in time. It is done in reseach. Ron