Week 3 Biology, on Genetic Evolution, sharing 99.4% DNA with chimps
"99.4% of the most critical DNA sites are identical in human and chimp genes"
So we are only .6% different than chimps in our DNA? Hm, we've sure tried to make ourselves seem so much more different than our not so distant relatives, the chimpanzee.
But we do share a lot - not just in the ways that we are formed but in the way we behave. Chimps are known to be aggressive and hierarchical - so are we!
Chimps also engage in social activities and mourn the loss of one of their kin, as do we.
It's interesting how in popular culture chimps have been depicted as this warring species that wants to kill humans (such as in Planet of the Apes) - we are so quick to call out the "violence" of chimps while our own actions are not seen as "violent" so much as justified. But isn't our relationship to the earth, to other animals, and even to each other honestly a bit violent? Or let's at least say competitive.
I had a great opportunity when I went to community college to observe chimps at the Sacramento Zoo for several hours, (sadly the enclosure was really too small for a family of about 7!). At the time, two chimps were vying for the alpha position, one was an elder chimp, pretty burly but kind of slow, the other was younger and very agile. The younger one won, I'm not sure why, but I remember reflecting then how similarly we can treat elderly people in our society. I'm not saying this is true the world over, and of course this varies from culture to culture in the US, but generally I don't see the most reverence towards our elders. In some societies, paying respect to these prized individuals of society is a given, and some studies show that this respect in the community is a crucial factor which helps people live longer, too.
In another primatology class I got to observe chimps at the SF Zoo as well. There were three chimps in a much larger enclosure, and sadly they had just lost an older female chimp (who was a muse to George Lucas apparently, as he modeled yoda from Star Wars after her face!). For weeks they were gloomy, all of them were older chimps and they took turns grooming each other throughout the day. I liked seeing the way they looked after each other. It was also nice how, compared to the Sacramento Zoo, these chimps were far enough away from the sound of traffic, of fire trucks... in Sacramento fire trucks would go by and every time, without fail, the group of chimps there would scream and wail. I thought: yeah, I hate noise too! :P
I guess reflecting on the quote sharing this percentage of how closely related we are to chimps, I would say that it doesn't surprise me, probably because I already saw firsthand (at least from the perspectives of enclosures in zoos, not their natural habitat) the likeness we share with chimps. The good similarities and the bad ones.
So we are only .6% different than chimps in our DNA? Hm, we've sure tried to make ourselves seem so much more different than our not so distant relatives, the chimpanzee.
But we do share a lot - not just in the ways that we are formed but in the way we behave. Chimps are known to be aggressive and hierarchical - so are we!
Chimps also engage in social activities and mourn the loss of one of their kin, as do we.
It's interesting how in popular culture chimps have been depicted as this warring species that wants to kill humans (such as in Planet of the Apes) - we are so quick to call out the "violence" of chimps while our own actions are not seen as "violent" so much as justified. But isn't our relationship to the earth, to other animals, and even to each other honestly a bit violent? Or let's at least say competitive.
I had a great opportunity when I went to community college to observe chimps at the Sacramento Zoo for several hours, (sadly the enclosure was really too small for a family of about 7!). At the time, two chimps were vying for the alpha position, one was an elder chimp, pretty burly but kind of slow, the other was younger and very agile. The younger one won, I'm not sure why, but I remember reflecting then how similarly we can treat elderly people in our society. I'm not saying this is true the world over, and of course this varies from culture to culture in the US, but generally I don't see the most reverence towards our elders. In some societies, paying respect to these prized individuals of society is a given, and some studies show that this respect in the community is a crucial factor which helps people live longer, too.
In another primatology class I got to observe chimps at the SF Zoo as well. There were three chimps in a much larger enclosure, and sadly they had just lost an older female chimp (who was a muse to George Lucas apparently, as he modeled yoda from Star Wars after her face!). For weeks they were gloomy, all of them were older chimps and they took turns grooming each other throughout the day. I liked seeing the way they looked after each other. It was also nice how, compared to the Sacramento Zoo, these chimps were far enough away from the sound of traffic, of fire trucks... in Sacramento fire trucks would go by and every time, without fail, the group of chimps there would scream and wail. I thought: yeah, I hate noise too! :P
I guess reflecting on the quote sharing this percentage of how closely related we are to chimps, I would say that it doesn't surprise me, probably because I already saw firsthand (at least from the perspectives of enclosures in zoos, not their natural habitat) the likeness we share with chimps. The good similarities and the bad ones.
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