ABSTRACT
Despite humans being very similar genetically to other apes, it is clear that humans are atypical in many respects: diversity, population size, geographical distribution, and population structure. Molecular analyses can provide information about both the order and timing of the branches in the great ape– human tree. Comparison of the chimpanzee and human genomes has identified 53 functional human genes that are either completely or partially deleted in the chimpanzee. In comparisons of humans and other great apes certain characteristic evolutionary changes are found to be specific to some nonhuman primates. Nonhuman primate parasites represent a substantial reservoir of potential human pathogens, which may be able to make the jump from wild nonhuman primates to humans because of the close phylogenetic relationship. Morphological evidence from fossils and extant species places humans in the taxonomic order of primates and reveals humans to be most closely related to the chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla, and orangutan.
