Research published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that are two closest animal relatives, the chimpanzee and bonobo, should be reclassified into the genus Homo. This research claims that we share 99.4% of functionally important genes with our near relatives.

Noone would argue that humans do not possess some special traits that set them apart from other animal species, the capacity for communicating complex abstract thought between one another being an obvious example. Not withstanding this, this research reminds us that we are also animals, bound by the rules of nature and by our own biology.

Sadly, we may not be sharing our genus with other living "homo" species for very much longer unless we make significant efforts to protect and support them.