Animal disease, human cure

WE ARE animals. Like it or not, we have more in common with our four-legged, furry, amphibian and feathered friends than most of us realise. That we share 70 per cent of our DNA with a sea sponge, let alone around 95 per cent of it with a chimpanzee, is now well known. How does this genetic similarity translate into everyday life? When it comes to health and healthy behaviour, we share much more with other species than you might think. Cougars get cancer, promiscuous koalas get the clap, and wallabies get high on opium. Cardiologist Barbara Natterson-Horowitz and science…