New Research Overturns Claim that Humans and Chimps Differ by Only 1% in Their DNA
SEATTLE, May 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- For years, the public has been told that human beings and chimpanzees are, in genetic terms, only "1 percent" different. But according to Discovery Institute scientist Dr. Casey Luskin, this claim has just been overturned by research recently published in Nature, the world's most prestigious science journal.
"The actual difference between the human and chimp genomes turns out to be much greater than previously claimed," said Luskin. "Instead of 1 percent, it's between 14 to 14.9 percent. That's 14 times more than the often-quoted 1 percent statistic." Luskin has written extensively on the issue of human origins and human uniqueness, including co-authoring the book Science and Human Origins.
Luskin says that previous comparisons between chimps and humans were based on incomplete data that used the human genome to extrapolate information about the chimp genome. Thus, ape and man appeared far more similar than they are in reality.
Strangely, the Nature article buries this explosive new information deep in the Supplementary Data, and then obscures it in technical jargon.
"This is a major scientific discovery," said Luskin, "yet those involved don't seem interested in highlighting it. Why?"
Luskin analyzes the new data in a two-part series at Evolution News and Science Today, where he points out the cultural significance of the findings. He points out that the 1% claim has widely functioned as a kind of "icon of evolution" in public discussions, used to assert that humans are just slightly modified chimps.
Signage at the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of Natural History, for example, currently informs visitors that "You and chimpanzees [are] 98.8% genetically similar." The museum is visited by nearly 4 million people each year.
Similarly, science popularizer Bill Nye has written in his bestselling book Undeniable, "As our understanding of DNA has increased, we have come to understand that we share around 98.8 percent of our gene sequence with chimpanzees."
Luskin calls on science educators and museums to correct the record: "This icon of evolution has now been falsified. It's misinformation, and it needs to be corrected."
Discovery Institute is a non-profit educational and research organization whose mission is to advance a culture of purpose, creativity, and innovation with programs in areas such as economics, education, technology, bioethics, and artificial intelligence.
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-research-overturns-claim-that-humans-and-chimps-differ-by-only-1-in-their-dna-302462214.html
SOURCE Discovery Institute