In the 1960s, Toshisada Nishida, of Kyoto University, set up a long-term research project in the Mahale Mountains of Tanzania. His aim was to study our closest relatives in the wild. His work, and that of Jane Goodall, whose field site was some 170 km north, in Gombe, transformed the way we view chimps.
Now, with completion last week of the chimp genome sequence, our view will again change.
A chimp called Clint, who died last year, supplied the DNA used to do the sequencing. He lived at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.