The big news in the scientific community this week was the
announcement that scientists have decoded the genetic sequence
of chimpanzees, the closest living relative to mankind. In
articles published in the journal Nature and published online by
the journal Science, an international team of researchers
identified virtually all the roughly 3 billion building blocks
of chimp DNA. The scientists found a very small difference
between human DNA and chimp DNA--between 1 percent and 4
percent. But the number of genetic differences between a chimp
and a human is about 10 times higher than that between two
humans. Exploring those differences could help scientists figure
what exactly makes us human. Blog community response: "There are
no firm answers yet about how humans picked up key traits such
as walking upright and developing complex language. But the work
has produced a long list of DNA differences with the chimp and
some hints about which ones might be crucial." --Just Hangin' on
a Cross "It's not just a few scie