The objective of the 2000/2001 Waksman Student Scholars Program is to investigate the causes of the differences between humans and their closest cousins: the great apes (chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans.) This year's project will use DNA sequence data to examine the genes that these species have in common, and to look for differences in DNA sequence that may be significant in determining the greater intellectual capacity of humans.

To carry out the project, students will purify DNA from cells obtained from the great apes. Subsequently, they will amplify, clone, and sequence selected regions of great ape DNA. The sequences they obtain will be compared to similar sequences from humans, and the differences between them investigated.

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