Comments on: Scientific DNA Proof of Bigfoot May be Only Months Away?

By: terry the censor

terry the censor — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 19:02:01 +0000

Some excellent points about DNA here (which is important with Lloyd Pye out there, uttering “if not X then Y” fallacies).

The “both human and animal” bit is most troubling, mainly for reasons already mentioned. But I also wonder: Are they trying to cut a round hole so vast that most any square peg will fit in? Or are they aiming for “Bigfoot is the missing link”?

By: E

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 17:55:13 +0000

What DWA said!!!!

Can’t know it’s a Sasquatch before we have DNA from a Sasquatch. It can only be evidence of something unknown at the most…

By: Darkhawk

Darkhawk — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 03:05:06 +0000

and of course her nephew Ash is one of the foremost Cryptozoologists.

By: ILoveSnakes

ILoveSnakes — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:53:35 +0000

Demian66 is right on the money.

By: dogu4

dogu4 — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:13:31 +0000

If, as some think, BF is derived from the same lineage as humans, having speciated as an archaic human around the time of H. erectus, I wouldn’t expect to see much in the way of ‘animal characteristics’ in its genetic code. Afterall the degree of hairiness and skeletal size are a question of the degree of expression for traits that we already share.

By: Demian66

Demian66 — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:20:12 +0000

Ah yes, Dr. Ketchum is a veterinarian and a “fan”, of course Dave Wall.

That’s the curriculum vitae of a simple fan and a naive bigfoot believer, with no deeper knowledge about genetics:

Dr. Ketchum has also established a research program ranging from gene mapping to developing the VeriSNP™ (patent pending) platform for universal genetic evaluation in multiple species of animals. Other research includes genetics of disease, population genetics and other genetically important traits such as coat color in animals. Dr. Ketchum is a past three-term Chairperson of the International Society for Animal Genetics Equine Genetics Standing Committee. She has also been Dog Map Chairperson and a Committee member on the Dog and Cat Parentage Committee. She is currently the Treasurer for AFDAA, The Association of DNA Analysts and Administrators. Dr. Ketchum has a daughter and a son and lives on her Attoyac Valley Ranch in East Texas.

Really sounds like a simple fan….

By: krakatoa

krakatoa — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 03:48:30 +0000

Agreed, DWA.

…both human and animal characteristics

I’ll be interested to see how they rule out contamination of the sample if that’s the case.

By: Ragnar

Ragnar — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:23:54 +0000

I’d like to wait until we see the report. Unless the collector of the samples is really careful its pretty easy to contaminate the samples so that they read out with human and animal DNA. The hard part is to separate the contaminants so you get pure samples.

By: Dave Wall

Dave Wall — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:27:25 +0000

This Dr. Ketchum is the same person who analyzed Gates’ supposed clump of yeti fur. Got exactly the same results. She’s not a DNA specialist, she’s a veterinarian and a fan.

I figure that when you take two woefully unimpressive monkey hunters and cross them with an unsubstantiated analysis all you’re gonna get is whatever the bigfoot version is of “All hat and no cattle.”

By: DWA

DWA — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:58:26 +0000

Well, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves here.

I always get…well, skeptical when anyone purporting to be a scientist does any discussing of results before the results are in. Particularly when a fairly high-profile, controversial Bigfooter appears to be horning in on it.

You can’t have proof of a species until you have a specimen. This isn’t a specimen. What we will have here, best case scenario, is pretty durned compelling evidence that there is something uncatalogued out there. We still won’t know what that is. And that is BEST case scenario.