By JAMES NYE
DAILYMAIL
November 28, 2012
Bigfoot is not only real and living among us, but he is a direct relative of man and had sex with human females 15,000 years ago - according to a new scientific study using 'real' DNA samples.
The report by Texan researcher Dr. Melba S. Ketchum is apparently the result of five years of work by her firm, DNA Diagnostics and concludes that the legendary Sasquatch is a missing link that arose approximately 15,000 years ago.
However, Dr. Ketchum has presented no evidence yet for her potentially momentous findings nor has she had her work reviewed by peers in the scientific community - both standard procedures to follow before announcing spectacular claims.
Dr. Ketchum, a veterinarian- researcher claims to have discovered the genetic proof that shows the mythic Bigfoot is indeed a human hybrid, descended from human women who mated with men of 'an unknown hominin species.'
According to a statement released on Saturday, Dr. Ketchum said that the mitochondrial DNA in the samples, which she apparently obtained from leftover blueberry bagels eaten by a family of 10 bigfoot's who live in Michigan, show clear evidence of genetic mixing.
The 'nuclear DNA samples' - the blueprint that mixes genetic material of both parents, shows that bigfoot's have human nuclear DNA and 'novel hon-human sequence.'
'Genetically, the Sasquatch are a human hybrid with unambiguously modern human maternal ancestry,' Ketchum said in the statement.
A still from the famous Patterson-Gimlin film of 1967 that purports to show the legendary Sasquatch which roams the forests of North America
Of course, scientists have demanded that Dr. Ketchum present her evidence but she has so far declined to make anything public.
This had led to a large degree of suspicion towards her claims, as researchers have seen decades of final definitive bigfoot proof such as hair, corpses and blood arrive and be debunked.
However, what marks Dr. Ketchum's claims out from other's are the genetic basis of her findings, such as, 'Sasquatch mtDNA is identical to modern Homo sapiens.'
If this is the case, then this suggests one of two options for scientists expecting the Texan's work, whenever it is delivered.
One is that Bigfoot did have sex with ancient human women 15,000-years-ago and created a half-human hybrid species which is currently hiding in North America.
Another is that the samples are contaminated.
Apparently the DNA evidence from the Bigfoot's come from the blueberry bagels leftover from a family of 10 Sasquatch who live in Michigan
That does not discount the fact that the hair could be Bigfoot though, it just means that there was no human DNA/bigfoot mixing 15,000-years ago and presumably a researcher or whoever handled the original sample contaminated it with their DNA.
In the past alleged Bigfoot samples that have been subjected to DNA analysis have been deemed 'unknown' or 'unidentified' and there is no sample reference of Bigfoot DNA to compare this with.
In addition to her slightly cryptic announcement, Ketchum said that the U.S. government should immediately recognise Bigfoot as 'an indigenous people and immediately protect their human and Constitutional rights'.
However, because scientists only make judgements on published data, experts are being cautious.
University of Wisconsin anthropologist John Hawks, an expert on human evolution, wrote on his blog that he was withholding judgment until results were available. “No data, no discovery,” he wrote according to the LA Times.
It is also thought that Ketchum may be planning to film a documentary and write a book about her work.
Proof at Last of the Existence of Bigfoot? Dr. Ketchum's Statement in Full
'A team of scientists can verify that their 5-year long DNA study, currently under peer-review, confirms the existence of a novel hominin hybrid species, commonly called “Bigfoot” or 'Sasquatch,' living in North America. Researchers’ extensive DNA sequencing suggests that the legendary Sasquatch is a human relative that arose approximately 15,000 years ago as a hybrid cross of modern Homo sapiens with an unknown primate species.
The study was conducted by a team of experts in genetics, forensics, imaging and pathology, led by Dr. Melba S. Ketchum of Nacogdoches, TX. In response to recent interest in the study, Dr. Ketchum can confirm that her team has sequenced 3 complete Sasquatch nuclear genomes and determined the species is a human hybrid.
Our study has sequenced 20 whole mitochondrial genomes and utilized next generation sequencing to obtain 3 whole nuclear genomes from purported Sasquatch samples. The genome sequencing shows that Sasquatch mtDNA is identical to modern Homo sapiens, but Sasquatch nuDNA is a novel, unknown hominin related to Homo sapiens and other primate species. Our data indicate that the North American Sasquatch is a hybrid species, the result of males of an unknown hominin species crossing with female Homo sapiens.
Hominins are members of the taxonomic grouping Hominini, which includes all members of the genus Homo. Genetic testing has already ruled out Homo neanderthalis and the Denisova hominin as contributors to Sasquatch mtDNA or nuDNA. “The male progenitor that contributed the unknown sequence to this hybrid is unique as its DNA is more distantly removed from humans than other recently discovered hominins like the Denisovan individual,” explains Ketchum.
Sasquatch nuclear DNA is incredibly novel and not at all what we had expected. While it has human nuclear DNA within its genome, there are also distinctly non-human, non-archaic hominin, and non-ape sequences. We describe it as a mosaic of human and novel non-human sequence. Further study is needed and is ongoing to better characterize and understand Sasquatch nuclear DNA.”
Ketchum is a veterinarian whose professional experience includes 27 years of research in genetics, including forensics. Early in her career she also practiced veterinary medicine, and she has previously been published as a participant in mapping the equine genome. She began testing the DNA of purported Sasquatch hair samples 5 years ago.
Ketchum calls on public officials and law enforcement to immediately recognize the Sasquatch as an indigenous people:
Genetically, the Sasquatch are a human hybrid with unambiguously modern human maternal ancestry. Government at all levels must recognize them as an indigenous people and immediately protect their human and Constitutional rights against those who would see in their physical and cultural differences a ‘license’ to hunt, trap, or kill them.'
Read more:
Bigfoot DNA? Not so fast, many say
