Question

What role cell and molecular biology has played in solving the problem of human ancestry?

Answer 1

Studies at the cellular and molecular level have helped in establishing molecular homology.

The molecules that carry the instructions for making and running our bodies, encoded in our DNA. The evolutionary history of a species can be seen in its DNA sequences. The more closely related two species are, the more similar their DNA sequences.For example, the proteins found in the blood of man and ape are similar. While the genetic difference between individual humans today is very less – about 0.1%, on average – the study of the same aspects of the chimpanzee genome indicates a difference of about 1.2%.

Hence it can be concluded that besides similarities in anatomy and behaviour, our close biological kinship with other primate species is indicated by DNA evidence. It confirms that our closest living biological relatives are chimpanzees and bonobos, with whom we share many traits. But we did not evolve directly from any primates living today.

DNA also shows that our species and chimpanzees diverged from a common ancestor species that lived between 8 and 6 million years ago. The last common ancestor of monkeys and apes lived about 25 million years ago.