Human hand more primitive than chimp's, study says

July 14, 2015

Scientists in the United States and Spain said the human hand may be more primitive than that of our closest living cousin, the chimpanzee

Strong fists for defending ourselves and opposable thumbs for work as fine as threading a needle—hand specialisation is widely believed to have given humans a major evolutionary advantage.

On Tuesday, scientists in the United States and Spain said the human hand may be more primitive than that of our closest living cousin, the chimpanzee.

In fact, human hands are likely more similar to those of the last common ancestor we and chimps shared millions of years ago.

"These findings indicate that the structure of the modern human hand is largely primitive in nature, rather than the result of selective pressures in the context of stone tool-making," said a press summary from the journal Nature Communications, which published the study.

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Hands and Fins Share Common Genetic Origin

by Tanya Lewis, Staff Writer | December 22, 2014 03:27pm ET

Scientists have long wanted to know whether modern hands are related to the fins of fish, and now a new study finally reveals these structures are, indeed, related.

Researchers compared the genetic sequence of an unusual freshwater fish with that of mice, and found that the genesinvolved in the development of the mice's hands and feet are also involved in fin development, which suggests the fins of the fishy ancestors evolved into the limbs of modern land animals.

"Fossils show that the wrist and digits clearly have an aquatic origin," Neil Shubin, an organismal biologist at the University of Chicago, said in a statement. "But fins and limbs have different purposes. They have evolved in different directions since they diverged."

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