Pruning the evolutionary tree
Monday, 02 June, 2003
Australian scientists have given the human family tree a dramatic pruning following a detailed study of genetic data from humans and chimpanzees.
The study, by Dr Darren Curnoe of UNSW's school of medical sciences and Dr Alan Thorne from the Australian National University, suggests the human evolutionary branch may have contained far fewer species than currently estimated. This has important implications for the study of human evolution and evolutionary biology in general.
"The idea that many different species of pre-human lived alongside each other, but that only one of them, our own, ultimately came to dominate, has captured the imagination of many scientists," says Curnoe.
"Our research strongly suggests this idea to be science fiction, not fact."
For further information, please visit UNSW's Uniken website
Item provided courtesy of UNSW
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