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Old 02-14-2005, 05:06 AM   #79 (permalink)
raveneye
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Where are all the missing links? We see similar species but where is the half-man half-ape?
1. Humans are apes. We belong to the family Hominidae which we share with gorillas, chimps, and orangs. Hominidae is one of two families in the ape superfamily, the other one being the Hylobatidae containing the gibbons or "lesser apes."

Consider: there is no bone in your body that you don't share with a chimp. Every single chemical known to be produced in the human brain has also been found in the chimp brain. The immune systems, digestive systems, lymph systems, nervous systems of humans and chimps are virtually indistinguishable from each other in fine detail.

Humans and chimps are practically identical in their DNA. The only obvious visible difference is human chromosome 2 evolved by fusion of two chimp chromosomes. Other than that human and chimp chromosomes are indistinguishable. Overall, if you look at any random DNA sequence in humans and chimps, the difference is only about 2%.

Now that the human genome has been sequenced it won't be long before we'll know exactly what genes are different between the two and what their sequence differences are. In the next decades researchers will be converting chimp genes to human genes in embryo by gene therapy, and we'll have chimps that are increasingly similar to humans.

2. There are intermediate fossils galore. New ones are being found all the time. You might start with Ardipithecus.

3. If you're really serious about learning about macroevolution, you should find a book about evolution and take the time to read it and think about it. You will get some wonderful insights into how animals and plants came to be the way they are.
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