![Who's Your Cousin?](https://cdn.magzter.com/1441816897/1710457633/articles/ASHqA7muv1710505048312/Great-apes-Chimpanzee-Gorilla.jpg)
A modern, statistically based system of classification called cladistics reveals a surprising possibility: Not only are humans apes, but we are more closely related to chimpanzees than chimpanzees are to orangutans or gorillas. In other words, the chimpanzees’ closest living relatives are—us! A gorilla, looking past our culture and technology, might see us humans as just another type of chimpanzee.
Cladistics is a mathematical representation of a simple idea—that all living things are related. The more they are related, the more recently they had a common ancestor. These relationships are expressed in diagrams called cladograms.
The simplest cladogram links two living things—you and a chimpanzee, for instance. The diagram doesn’t seem to display much information, as there’s only one way to draw it. You and a chimpanzee have a lot in common, sharing among other traits four limbs, hair, a big brain, and almost 99 percent of your DNA. In other ways, you and a chimpanzee are different. That’s why you appear on separate branches of the cladogram, after all!
The interesting questions arise when we add a third living thing to the cladogram—let’s say a gorilla. There are three different ways to draw this relationship. How do we decide among them?
Denne historien er fra April 2024-utgaven av Muse Science Magazine for Kids.
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Denne historien er fra April 2024-utgaven av Muse Science Magazine for Kids.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
![Who's Your Cousin?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/11355/1633847/ASHqA7muv1710505048312/crp_Great-apes-Chimpanzee-Gorilla.jpg)
Who's Your Cousin?
The great apes are among the most popular animals in most zoos. Their actions, facial expressions, and family life remind us so much of ourselves. Have you ever wondered, though, how we might look to them?
![Is it possible to die of boredom?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/11355/1633847/ZzB-iZQgF1710508711802/IS-IT-POSSIBLE-TO-DIE-OF-BOREDOM.jpg)
Is it possible to die of boredom?
To figure out if we can die of boredom, we first have to understand what boredom is. For help, we called James Danckert, a psychologist who studies boredom at the University of Waterloo in Canada.
![THE PROBLEM WITH PALM OIL](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/11355/1633847/NE6B5peNi1710508405429/THE-PROBLEM-WITH-PALM-OIL.jpg)
THE PROBLEM WITH PALM OIL
Palm oil is all around you. It’s in sugary snacks like cookies and candy bars. It’s in lipstick and shampoo and pet food.
![SERGE WICH](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/11355/1633847/-jLx5_Ovb1710508082294/SERGE-WICH.jpg)
SERGE WICH
Serge Wich’s favorite days at work are spent out in the forest, studying orangutans in Sumatra and Borneo or chimpanzees in Tanzania.
![ELODIE FREYMANN](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/11355/1633847/rxYkBeZAq1710507644261/ELODIE-FREYMANN.jpg)
ELODIE FREYMANN
When you’re feeling sick, it probably doesn’t occur to you to try eating tree bark.
![Guardians of the Forest](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/11355/1633847/3EFkZEWa51710506719598/GUARDIANS-OF-THE-FOREST.jpg)
Guardians of the Forest
EARLY, MAKESHIFT WILDLIFE DRONES HELPED TO DETECT AND PROTECT ORANGUTANS.
![APE ANTICS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/11355/1633847/oR6tFGQgh1710507151473/APE-ANTICS.jpg)
APE ANTICS
The Whirling World of primate play
![Dr. Ape Will See You Now](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/11355/1633847/Mp7BNzq0N1710506413948/DR-APE-WILL-SEE-YOU-NOW.jpg)
Dr. Ape Will See You Now
HUMANS AREN’T THE ONLY PRIMATES THAT USE MEDICATION.
![THE LEFT OVERS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/11355/1633847/R-dA4gR5q1710505795587/THE-LEFT-OVERS.jpg)
THE LEFT OVERS
A lot has happened for modern humans to get to this point. We lost most of our hair, learned how to make tools, established civilizations, sent a person to the Moon, and invented artificial intelligence. Whew! With all of these changes, our bodies have changed, too. It’s only taken us about six million years.
![SO, WHAT IS A PRIMATE?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/11355/1633847/adJ6Z9jpO1710505380650/SO-WHAT-IS-A-PRIMATE.jpg)
SO, WHAT IS A PRIMATE?
What do you have in common with the aye-aye, sifaka, siamang, and potto? If you said your collarbone, you re probably a primatologist—a person who studies primates. If you’re not, read on.