Similarities Between Humans And Chimpanzees

What Makes Us Human is an eye opening article that really leaves no question that evolution is real. Most people accept that humans and primates share a common ancestor, this can easily be seen from our countless similarities. Humans and chimpanzees share behavioral similarities like caring for and nursing their young and have shown high levels of intelligence compared to other species. They are also physically similar in some aspects; they both share opposable thumbs and can walk in an upright position. For as long as humans have been on earth, chimpanzees have played a fundamental role in showing Homo sapiens who we are and where we came from. But just how similar are humans and chimpanzees on a genetic level? The answer to that question

When humans were compared to chimpanzees there was a difference of 18 bases in a significantly shorter period of time. Another important discovery that has given scientist useful information regarding humans and chimpanzees is the FOXP2 and ASPM genes. FOXP2 plays a rule in speech by facilitating formation of words, and is another gene with fast changing sequences. Researchers at Oxford discovered that people with mutations in their FOXP2 gene have trouble with certain facial movements even if they still have the ability to process language. In 2007 scientist extracted sequenced FOXP2 from a Neanderthal fossil and found that the extinct humans had today’s modern version of the gene, giving them the ability to articulate the way we do. Evidence suggests that the FOXP2 gene emerged at least 500,000 years ago. When scientists look at similarities between humans and chimpanzees they often focus on the size of the brain of a chimpanzee and how it compares to a human’s brain. Primates generally have a much larger brain then what would be expected when looking at their body size. Studies show that brain size in humans and chimpanzees is linked to the gene sequence known as ASPM, which controls brain size and has more than tripled since human evolution. Throughout primate evolution, researchers have shown that ASPM had many rapid changes and at least one of these took place in humans since it diverged from chimps. There are other similarities between humans and chimpanzees when focusing on the genetic level such as DNA. Humans and chimps also share the sequence HAR2, which enables a certain type of activity in the wrist and thumb, this shows scientist that long ago we were using complex