The
BBC reports that researchers have completed the sequencing and analysis of the chimpanzee genome. It's long been held that chimps are humanity's closest living relatives, having diverged from a common ancestor only about 7 million years ago, but now we can see just how close that relationship is.
The study shows that our genomes are startlingly similar. We differ by only 1.2% in terms of the genes that code for the proteins which build and maintain our bodies. This rises to about 4%, when non-coding or "junk" DNA is taken into account.
The long-term goal of the project is to pinpoint the genetic changes that led to human characteristics such as complex language, walking upright on two feet, a large brain and tool use.
As the study’s lead author, Tarjei Mikkelsen of the
Broad Institute at MIT, says:
We still do not have in our hands the answer to a most fundamental question: What makes us human? But this genomic comparison dramatically narrows the search for the key biological differences between the two species.
Nature magazine is commemorating the project’s completion with a special
web feature on Pan troglodytes, including some previously-unseen footage of
chimpanzee behaviour.
