Skepticism, Science & Pseudoscience

xchrom

(108,903 posts) Wed May 23, 2012, 05:31 AM May 2012

DNA to shed light on yeti claims

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18160673

Believers in the yeti suggest it could represent a survival of creatures such as the huge ape Gigantopithecus

A UK-Swiss team will use DNA testing to investigate the origins of remains claimed to be from yeti and bigfoot.

The project will examine hair, bone and other material from a collection amassed by a Swiss biologist - and will invite submissions from elsewhere.

Many cultures relate legends of hairy, humanoid creatures that lurk in the wilds, rarely seen.

But material claimed to be from such creatures have never been subjected to modern scientific techniques.

8 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

DNA to shed light on yeti claims (Original Post) xchrom May 2012 OP

Prediction: DNA will reveal no yetis in the lot. Yetishts will continue to believe. Warren Stupidity May 2012 #1

"Yetishists..." I love that. TheWraith May 2012 #2

Plenty of us take it very seriously Ter Jun 2012 #3

First I've heard of that. SwissTony Jun 2012 #4

Yes, the Yeti and Bigfoot believers will frogmarch Jun 2012 #5

It's not so that this has never been done. "Yeti" hair from Tibet dimbear Jun 2012 #6

That doesn't prove anything! laconicsax Jun 2012 #7

So the Yeti is a monkey!!! Who'd a-thunk it? nt. SwissTony Jun 2012 #8

Warren Stupidity

(48,181 posts)

1. Prediction: DNA will reveal no yetis in the lot. Yetishts will continue to believe.

Reply to xchrom (Original post)

Wed May 23, 2012, 11:29 AM

May 2012

TheWraith

(24,331 posts)

2. "Yetishists..." I love that.

Reply to Warren Stupidity (Reply #1)

Wed May 23, 2012, 08:16 PM

May 2012

And sheesh, I didn't know there were really still people who took the Yeti seriously.

Ter

(4,281 posts)

3. Plenty of us take it very seriously

Reply to TheWraith (Reply #2)

Fri Jun 1, 2012, 08:05 PM

Jun 2012

Gorillas were once though to not exist.

SwissTony

(2,560 posts)

4. First I've heard of that.

Reply to Ter (Reply #3)

Sat Jun 2, 2012, 02:03 AM

Jun 2012

Europeans used to think that all swans were white until they (the Europeans, not the swans) got to Australia.

frogmarch

(12,226 posts)

5. Yes, the Yeti and Bigfoot believers will

Reply to xchrom (Original post)

Thu Jun 14, 2012, 01:53 PM

Jun 2012

continue to cling to the notion that these creatures exist, even though it's unlikely that DNA testing will ever support it.

Just like the crop circle people who continue to insist that crop designs were made by ETs ("Well, okay, maybe humans made some of them but the rest were made by aliens!&quot

I like this: