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News Release 11-017

Scientists Determine What Makes an Orangutan an Orangutan

New map of the genetic code of endangered orangutans yields important new conservation tools and insights into evolution

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Photo of a baby orangutan hanging on to its mother.

The newly mapped genetic code of orangutans may help explain why oranguntans grow slowly, reproduce slowly, and have a long time period between births.

Credit: © 2011 Jupiter Images Corporation