Are Human-Chimp Hybrids Possible?

Wow, that's interesting, thanks for sharing. I was happy to learn this kind of interbreeding is probably not realistic. It does make you wonder what may be possible in the future.

Not to mention that its nearly impossible to find a date movie that chimps & humans both enjoy.

Humans and chimps have DNA that is something close to 99% identical,

Please, get a hold of some more accurate, up-to-date information.

Genome and gene alterations by insertions and deletions in the evolution of human and chimpanzee chromosome 22Natalia Volfovsky, Taras K Oleksyk, Kristine C Cruz, Ann L Truelove, Robert M Stephens and Michael W SmithBMC Genomics 2009, 10:51doi:10.1186/1471-2164-10-51Published: 26 January 2009

...Initially, differences between humans and chimpanzees were estimated at 1% [7, 17, 18], but later this number was refined to 1.2% [8]. Several studies pointed out that the number of differences is much higher when indels (insertions and deletions) are included in the comparison [19-21], and the total divergence may be as high as 6.5% [19]. Removing repeats and low-complexity DNA reduces this calculation to 2.4% [19], doubling the original estimates...

BTW, when indels are accounted for, differences between one Homo sapiens individual and another may as much as 1% - 3%.

This tells us the variation between two groups - human and chimpanzees. But what's the variation within each group? Presumably it's fractions of 1%.

I think humans have already screwed up this species and the likelihood of their survival in natural habitats.

Would a female chimpanzee want to have a weird, half-human baby that would be taken away from her, raised and tested ad nauseam in a lab situation? I don't think so.

Interesting! Thanks for the video.

So ... who else read Next by Michael Crichton?

But what's the variation within each group?

Two human individuals will differ in their DNA by 1-3%, or so says Craig Venter.

That's nice to know how much of our DNA we have in common, but don't forget to add that in terms of the number of chromosomes, humans have 46 but chimpanzees have 48. Trying to make a hybrid would result in an unmatched chromosome. There are enough HUMANS with significant medical problems because they do not have the proper number of chromosomes. It is likely that a cross-bred embryo would not be viable.

I wish you people wouldn't be so negative. Maybe it won't work, but we'll never know unless we try, right? And I, for one, would love having a chuman slave to do my housework and mow my lawn.

David, unmatched chromosome numbers can be surprisingly unproblematic, as long as the chromosomes line up well. There are two short chimp chromosomes which line up very well against human chromosome 2 (which was formed by the fusion of those two chromosomes), except for one large section which was apparently "flipped". That section would interfere with alignment far more than mere chromosome number.

What you are thinking of is the problem where one chromosome has nothing at all to line up against. This isn't the case here. In general, where the fusion of two smaller chromosomes or the split of one larger one changes chromosome number, but the DNA sequences involved still have another matching stretch of DNA to pair up with (packaged in the original chromosome(s)), mitosis and meiosis still work just fine. That's how changes in chromosome number in mammals can originate in a single individual, but spread through the population.

It's as possible as creating a Liger.Problem is,who would have the guts to create such a being? How could it live? I could only imagine it living with the scientist who created it.A Humanzee would be shunned by both chimps and human beings.It's ability to speak would be a major factor.If it just ran around grunting,I would consider it an animal.THen it would be a major attraction, appearing on Oprah and other shows.

Differing numbers of chromosomes is hardly enough to stop a human/chimp or human/orangutan hybrid.

http://www.jstor.org/pss/3964139

In this article, a gibbon (44 chromosomes) mated unaided and successfully with a siamang (another monkey, 50 chromosomes). It is not known whether the hybrid itself could produce offspring, but that wouldn't really matter in this discussion. It is theoretically possible to create a humanzee and we should support this. Imagine bringing a humanzee to your local church. That would be a priceless experience.

ummm, Trin?

Consortium TCSaA: Initial sequence of the chimpanzee
genome and comparison with the human genome. Nature
2005, 437(7055):69-87

100-1.2=98.8

Wetterbom A, Sevov M, Cavelier L, Bergstrom TF: Comparative
genomic analysis of human and chimpanzee indicates a key
role for indels in primate evolution. J Mol Evol 2006, 63(5):682-690.

100-2.4=97.6

it occcurs to me that both are indeed "something close to 99%"...