Are we the “third chimp” or the “second orang”? Controversial new research suggests that we may be more closely related to the orang-utan than realised (Image: Newspix / Rex Features)

Editorial: In praise of scientific heresy

THESE days, we tend to accept without question that humans are “the third chimpanzee”. The term, coined by author Jared Diamond, refers to the notion that our closest relatives are the two chimpanzee species – the common chimp and the bonobo. But could we actually be “the second orang” – more closely related to orang-utans than chimps?

That is the controversial claim made this week …