IT SOUNDS like he's telling a porky but a leading geneticist claims he's serious in his claim that humans are descended from chimps and pigs.

Dr Eugene McCarthy, a world authority on hybridization, says the theory would explain many of the characteristics that make humans unique from other primates.

Humans and chimpanzees are closely related and it is a long held belief among scientists that the two share a common ancestor.

However, Dr McCarthy says that there are important differences between the two species and that many of the divergent characteristics possessed by humans are also shared by pigs.

He says these include hairless skin, a thick layer of subcutaneous fat, light-coloured eyes, protruding noses and heavy eyelashes. He points out similarities in internal organs which mean that pig heart valves can be used in human transplant operations.

The scientist explains the theory in an article on his website, Macroevolution.net. The doctor is at pains to point out his historic love-in between pig and chimp is only a theory.

Unsurprisingly, his ideas have come in for criticism from many in the scientific community.

PZ Myers claims on the Science Blogs that chimp and pig DNA are too different for sex between the two animals to result in a viable embryo, pointing out that while chimps have 48 chromosomes, pigs have just 38.

In a cheeky critique of the geneticist Myers suggests Dr McCarthy do the experimental work himself and try mating with a pig to see what happens.

