Informant38

Danish scientists have documented the first known exception to the rule, a man whose muscle cells contain mitochondria that came mainly from his father.

The discovery was so unexpected that the researchers repeated their experiments several times to make sure they hadn't mixed up samples or made other mistakes.

"The only explanation for our results is that it is a case of paternal inheritance of mitochondria. It was a very big surprise to us," said Marianne Schwartz, a geneticist at Copenhagen University Hospital.