Evaluating the Human-Chimp DNA Myth--New Research Data by
Jeffrey Tomkins, Ph.D. * A recent presentation at the 2011
Creation Biology Society (CBS) meetings has stirred the pot once
again on the human-chimp DNA similarity issue among
creationists, intelligent design proponents, and some
evolutionists.1 It was reported that a query of 40,000 chimp
genomic DNA sequences against the most recent assembly of the
human genome provided an average similarity estimate of 97 to 98
percent.2 Evolutionists frequently cite such percentages as an
indication of common ancestry, but the ICR life sciences team
has been examining the question of human-chimp genetic
similarity—and what we’ve discovered raises significant
challenges to the standard claims.3 For example, a report in
2007 showed that 23 percent of the human genome shares no
immediate genetic ancestry with chimpanzees, mankind’s supposed
closest living relative.4 A more recent study showed extreme
dissimilarity (> 30 percent) between human and chimp Y
chromosome DN