Scientists Decipher Chimp DNA
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At the core of forgotten
Wired reports that scientists have recently deciphered the DNA of the chimpanzee, the closest living relative of humankind, and made comprehensive comparisons with the human genetic blueprint.
Dr. Robert Waterston of the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle presented a draft of the newly deciphered sequence of the chimp genome in several related papers appearing in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature and being published online Thursday by the journal Science. In the papers an international team of researchers identified virtually all the roughly 3 billion building blocks of chimp DNA.
Dr. Robert Waterston of the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle presented a draft of the newly deciphered sequence of the chimp genome in several related papers appearing in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature and being published online Thursday by the journal Science. In the papers an international team of researchers identified virtually all the roughly 3 billion building blocks of chimp DNA.
Source: WiredThere are no firm answers yet about how humans picked up key traits such as walking upright and developing complex language. But the work has produced a long list of DNA differences with the chimp and some hints about which ones might be crucial.
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The bad news is that the chimps' Y Chromosomes are degrading over time, which could mean that within 10 million years they may not have a viable Y Chromosome.
The worse news is that humans are driving the chimps to extinction much faster than that!