DNA of chimps and humans share a 98% similarity and the small difference of 2% dissimilarity between chimps and humans can be used to find out the reasons for some of the genetic diseases which are prone to humans and not to chimpanzees.
Susceptibility to Malaria, Bacterial resistance and Progression of HIV to AIDS are main research areas which can be studied due to genetic difference as both humans and chimpanzees have a different progression rate of disease.Specific areas of interest in chimpanzees gene coding research include study of several genome regions which have been found to be conserved for more than 250 000 years in humans but have changed in chimpanzees like the three genes involved in inflammation that have been lost from the chimpanzee genome but are still present in humans.
