The Genetics of Humanness
What makes us unique as a species? From a genetic perspective, the answer is “Not very much.” Sequencing of the human and chimpanzee genomes allowed us to line up our DNA against that of our closest living relative on the tree of life and take stock. We found that the human and chimp genomes are nearly 99% identical and that each changed about the same amount since our common ancestor.1 To put this difference in perspective, a mouse and a rat differ at about 17 out of every 100 bases.2 Humans are not especially fast evolving. Instead, it appears that a few key changes in the right DNA sequences had big effects, modifying traits such as bone morphology, dietary repertoire, and disease susceptibility, all of which distinguish humans as a species. So where are these high impact mutations?
Collection of essays edited by James M. Calcagno and Agustín FuentesWith contributions by: Matt Cartmill, Kaye Brown, Katherine S. Pollard, Robert Sussman, Robert M. Seyfarth, Dorothy L. Cheney, Benjamin Campbell, Sarah Hrdy, Kristen Hawkes, Karen R. Rosenberg, Mary C. Stiner, Steven L. Kuhn, and Ken WeissEvol Anthropol. 2012 Sep-Oct;21(5):182-94. doi: 10.1002/evan.21328.
Loyola University Chicago, IL, USA. jcalcag@luc.edu
