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New monkey gene map may hold human clues

The rhesus macaque is the third primate genome to be completed, work that promises to greatly enhance understanding of primate evolution, perhaps even to help explain what makes us human.

Not surprisingly, the DNA of humans, chimps and macaques are highly similar. Humans and chimps have evolved separately since splitting from a common ancestor about 6 million years ago, but still have almost 99 percent of their gene sequences in common.

Here's the key: Six million years isn't long in evolutionary history. So if a particular gene is different in the human and the chimp, it's impossible to know which version came first. Add these more ancient Old World monkeys into the mix, however, and it may be possible to tease out genetic changes that were important for key traits of modern humans, such as higher brain power and walking upright.

"That does point us, in a much more powerful way, to answering the question, 'What does humanness mean?' at the DNA level," said Collins, director of NIH's National Human Genome Research Institute.

Stay tuned: More primate gene maps are on the way, including blueprints for orangutans, gorillas and gibbons.