Are we the “third chimp” or the “second orang”? Controversial new research suggests that we may be more closely related to the orang-utan than realised (Image: Newspix / Rex Features)
Editorial: In praise of scientific heresy
THESE days, we tend to accept without question that humans are . The term, coined by author Jared Diamond, refers to the notion that our closest relatives are the two chimpanzee species – the common chimp and the bonobo. But could we actually be “the second orang” – more closely related to orang-utans than chimps?
That is the controversial claim made this week…
