How close are humans to the apes genetically?
Humans differ from both common chimps and bonobos in about 1.6% of DNA, and share 98.4%. Gorillas differ somewhat more, by about 2.3%, from us and from both of the chimps. Humans differ from orangutans by 3.6% of DNA, and from gibbons and siamangs by 5%. Diamond, Jared. “The Third Chimpanzee,” in The Great Ape Project. New York : St. Martin’s Press, 1993. Pp. 94-95. See also: What It Really Means To Be 99% Chimpanzee by Jonathan Marks. Additional information about the genetic differences between primate species is available at: http://www.gate.net/~rwms/primegendist.html.
