[thechat] Chimps are human, gene study implies

[Madhu Menon]

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993744

 From the "chimps are homo now?" department:

<quote>

The latest twist in the debate over how much DNA separates humans from 
chimpanzees suggests we are so closely related that chimps should not only 
be part of the same taxonomic family, but also the same genus.

The new study found that 99.4 percent of the most critical DNA sites are 
identical in the corresponding human and chimp genes. With that close a 
relationship, the two living chimp species belong in the genus Homo, says 
Morris Goodman of Wayne State University in Detroit.

</quote>