DNA testing on hair of an … ape-man?
According to a BBC online article published last week, scientists in the UK have examined the hairs from an unknown animal that some think may belong to the legendary Yeti, or ape-man, creature that has been known throughout Indian lore for years. According to many Indian villagers, legend has it that the 8-foot-tall “mande barung,” or “forest man,” lives deep in the Garo hills of Northeast India. Reported sightings of this half-man, half-ape creature over many generations have led many around the world to try to prove or disprove the yeti’s existence.
The scientists at Oxford Brookes University are using DNA testing and analysis to compare the strands of hair to several species of primates. They are also comparing these hairs, collected by a forester in 2003, to a hair sample collected by Sir Edmund Hillary in the early 1930s. So far, scientists have said the DNA analysis has been inconclusive, with no matches to existing species of animal so far.
While the legend of the yeti has sparked international debate, one thing is certain: DNA testing performed on hair strands can provide powerful scientific proof of a person or animal’s identity. In fact, scientists have been using hair to answer identity questions through DNA testing and analysis since the 1990s. DNA testing on hair is often used for identification purposes in forensic DNA tests, and can also be used to help determine biological relationships, like paternity.
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on Friday, August 1st, 2008 at 6:41 pm and is filed under Home Paternity Tests.
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