A chimp-pig hybrid origin for humans?

#1

Post by evo_9 » Thu, Jul 04, 2013, 10:07 PM UTC

A chimp-pig hybrid origin for humans?
m.phys.org

Re: A chimp-pig hybrid origin for humans?

#2

Post by duncan_bayne » Thu, Jul 04, 2013, 10:23 PM UTC

My gut feel is that this is bat-shit crazy, but wouldn't it be amusing to see the response from the Jewish and Islamic world should it turn out that humans are pig hybrids? ;)

Re: A chimp-pig hybrid origin for humans?

#3

Post by bayesianhorse » Thu, Jul 04, 2013, 10:47 PM UTC

You can't make this stuff up. Or can you? At first I thought it's an elaborate joke, but I couldn't find any real pointers to the jocular nature...

Re: A chimp-pig hybrid origin for humans?

#4

Post by gojomo » Thu, Jul 04, 2013, 11:00 PM UTC

duncan_bayne wrote: post #2

My gut feel is that this is bat-shit crazy, but wouldn't it be amusing to see the response from the Jewish and Islamic world should it turn out that humans are pig hybrids? ;)

Vindication?

The broad (though not universal) taboo against eating primate meat has some basis in the higher risk of shared/cross-species diseases, due to a closer genetic relationship.

If there's a little pig in us, that'd argue for stronger taboos against eating pork... exactly as in Judaism and Islam.

Re: A chimp-pig hybrid origin for humans?

#5

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Jul 04, 2013, 11:02 PM UTC

duncan_bayne wrote: post #2

My gut feel is that this is bat-shit crazy, but wouldn't it be amusing to see the response from the Jewish and Islamic world should it turn out that humans are pig hybrids? ;)

[deleted]

Re: A chimp-pig hybrid origin for humans?

#6

Post by thelibrarian » Thu, Jul 04, 2013, 11:03 PM UTC

There's at least one fairly well-know biology professor/blogger who is unimpressed with what he dubs the "MFAP" hypothesis:

http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2013/07/02/the-mfap-h...

Re: A chimp-pig hybrid origin for humans?

#7

Post by to3m » Thu, Jul 04, 2013, 11:03 PM UTC

duncan_bayne wrote: post #2

My gut feel is that this is bat-shit crazy, but wouldn't it be amusing to see the response from the Jewish and Islamic world should it turn out that humans are pig hybrids? ;)

I don't think human meat is currently kosher or halal, so would it really matter?

Re: A chimp-pig hybrid origin for humans?

#8

Post by oinksoft » Thu, Jul 04, 2013, 11:06 PM UTC

bayesianhorse wrote: post #3

You can't make this stuff up. Or can you? At first I thought it's an elaborate joke, but I couldn't find any real pointers to the jocular nature...

This is quite real. McCarthy has been published by Oxford Press. Here it is from the horse's mouth: http://www.macroevolution.net/human-origins.html

Re: A chimp-pig hybrid origin for humans?

#9

Post by jvm » Thu, Jul 04, 2013, 11:07 PM UTC

Hybridization is actually a pretty interesting hypothesis for species differentiation in higher vertebrates, given that generations are often very long, hindering traditional accounts of evolution-through-mutation.

Re: A chimp-pig hybrid origin for humans?

#10

Post by GuiA » Thu, Jul 04, 2013, 11:15 PM UTC

"These days, getting a Ph.D. is probably the last thing you want to do if you are out to revolutionize the world. If, however, what you propose is an idea, rather than a technology, it can still be a valuable asset to have."

Man, those newspapers' opening lines are getting worse and worse...