Monday, September 05, 2005

Reaction to science: Humans and chimps -- one big happy genetic family?

So it seems, according to National Geographic:

Scientists have sequenced the genome of the chimpanzee and found that humans are 96 percent similar to the great ape species.

"Darwin wasn't just provocative in saying that we descend from the apes—he didn't go far enough," said Frans de Waal, a primate scientist at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. "We are apes in every way, from our long arms and tailless bodies to our habits and temperament."

Because chimpanzees are our closest living relatives, the chimp genome is the most useful key to understanding human biology and evolution, next to the human genome itself. The breakthrough will aid scientists in their mission to learn what sets us apart from other animals...

Humans and chimps originate from a common ancestor, and scientists believe they diverged some six million years ago.

Click on the link and read on. It's fascinating stuff.

(Hat tip: Andrew Sullivan.)

Bookmark and Share

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home