Okay, so maybe they're not better than humans, but these ancient “old-world” monkeys have just recently been discovered to hold the key to the solutions to many of diseases found in humans. In April 2007, the genome sequence of the rhesus macaque was completed, and it was found that 93% of its genes coincide with us humans! Of course, this is a far smaller percentage than the 99% similarity found in the genes of humans versus chimpanzees, but it is this difference that allows us to truly understand how humans have evolved from our ancestors.
Rhesus monkeys, or the rhesus macaque, diverged from the human and chimpanzee lineage around 25 million years ago, which in evolutionary terms, is a blink of an eye. This means that we’re extremely similar to these primates, and we share many genes which allow far more accurate medical research than lab rats.
Surprisingly, one of the protein-coding genes found in rhesus macaques are found to cause an enzyme in the human body to be affected, resulting in brain diseases. This can show us how quickly humans have had to adapt to a different environmental pressure.
Nevertheless, scientists hold great hope for even more medical research on these rhesus monkeys, with their abundance and similarities to the human genome, they are ideal for the research on AIDS, various disorders and infectious diseases, and vaccines.
So, I ask you, where would we be without our precious monkeys?
Written by: Ching-Han Nicole Wong
Student Number: 41789607
Primary references:
http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2007/0416macaque.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhesus_Macaque
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/316/5822/222
Picture source:
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/system/files/20070619_rhesus.jpg
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