Chimps are amazingly adaptable. Unlike other nonhuman primates, they live in a variety of habitats and have developed different behaviors to thrive in them.
A recent study now shows that chimps also adjust genetically to environmentally specific challenges. Perhaps most notably, forest chimps have shown changes in the same genes known to help fight malaria in humans, according to a study in the journal Science. The study has implications for both chimp conservation and human health.
“The fact that we find potential evidence of parallel adaptations in chimpanzees and humans suggest that studying chimpanzee evolution (and primate evolution more generally) will help us learn not only about our closest living relatives but about our own evolution,” says Aida Andrés, a genetics professor at University College London and an author of the paper.
In terms of conservation, understanding genetic resilience could help predict how chimps respond to a warming world.
“Because ...
