The K9 Comparison—What Dogs Tell Us About Humans By Frank Miele
We share about 97% of our genes with chimpanzees. But when Francis Crick, co-discoverer with James D. Watson of the double helix structure of DNA, was asked what unraveling the chimpanzee genome would tell us about human differences he replied: "I wouldn't waste any American money on the chimp".
The dog genome, Crick went on, would be a better target—because dogs vary so widely in appearance and behavior that unraveling their DNA would reveal much more about the influence of genes.
Canine evolution, because of dog breeding, has been run in fast forward—in some cases, before our very eyes.
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