Human Ancestors May Have Interbred With Chimpanzees

Washington Post ^ | May 17, 2006 | David Brown

[billorites]

When the ancestors of human beings and the ancestors of chimpanzees parted ways 6.3 million years ago, it was probably a very long goodbye. Some of their descendants may even have gone back for a final tryst.

That is the conclusion a group of scientists has reached, using a comparison of the genes of humans and their closest animal relatives to sketch a picture of human origins far more detailed than what fossil bones have revealed.

According to the new theory, chimps and humans shared a common apelike ancestor much more recently than was thought. Furthermore, when the two emerging species split from each other, it was not a clean break. Some members of the two groups seem to have interbred about 1.2 million years after they first diverged before going their separate ways for good.

If this theory proves correct, it will mean modern people are descended from something akin to chimp-human hybrids. That is a new idea and challenges the prevailing view that hybrids tend to die out.

It also strongly suggests that some of the oldest bones of "proto-humans" including the 7 million-year-old Toumai skull unearthed in Chad in 2001 belonged to a line of non-hybrids that died out, and were not human ancestors at all.

This narrative, by a team of geneticists and biostatisticians from the Broad Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, not only casts new light on the origin of humans, but also raises questions about how all new species arise.

"This is contributing to the idea that species are kind of fuzzy. They become real over time, but it takes millions of years," said James Mallet, a geneticist at University College London who was not involved in the new research. "We probably had a bit of a messy origin."

[BW2221]

... ant their descendent's are on the staff of The Washington Post.

[Jersey Republican Biker Chick]

I told you about that!!!

[saganite]

Guess that explains Ted Kennedy.

[camle]

kinda gives new meaning to the phrase "quit monkeying around"

[sheik yerbouty]

A certain decendant of these unions came from Hope Arkansas. By the time his troupe left the White House, they, in true simian fashion, ripped things to pieces and whizzed all over the floors..

[billorites]

The Broad Institute, huh?

[Paradox]

Might just not have been our ancestors, there is some merit to the theory that AIDS might have jumped from apes to humans a few decades ago. Somebody must have been very lonely, or very careless...

[RockinRight]

That explains Democrats.

[Red Badger]

....and thus the Democratic Party's future was assured........

[SF Republican]

One thing I understand Teddy wrote when he was young writing to his Dad - "Having more fun than a barrel of monkeys - send more barrels" - not too bad.

[BnBlFlag]

YUK!

[netmilsmom]

" A certain decendant of these unions came from Hope Arkansas. By the time his troupe left the White House, they, in true simian fashion, ripped things to pieces and whizzed all over the floors.."

Truth be told!

[Sacajaweau]

Isn't this what Darwin has effectively been saying?

[Red Badger]

MONKEY BUSINESS............

[sheik yerbouty]

Actually he is a subspecies of Cetacea, hence Greenpeace protects him..

[xcamel]

3rd post of this in the last 2 days

[billorites]

" Somebody must have been very lonely, or very careless..."

Or very drunk.

[nonsporting]

Get your hands off me you damned, dirty, ape!

[Onelifetogive]

This article can be summarized as follows:

Scientist says, "We don't have the first f'ng clue as to what happened, but we are certain that if we mention bestiality, we will get an article in the Wash Post."