Zipperfish Zipperfish:
The scientists (apparently Stanford scientists) say teh DNA is definitely human. I'm just having trouble wrapping my head around that.
DNA contains all the information needed to build a living thing. Plant, animal, etc. On top of the DNA are 'instruction' on how to 'express' that development. We all develop according to when these instructions are turned on and turned off.
Eg: in the womb, humans have tail leftover from our primate ancestors. Our DNA expresses, then at some point stops developing that tail and it gets re-absorbed. At the base of the spine, we all have a small vestige of that tail.
If there is a defect in the epi-genetics portion of our growth, we might continue to develop that tail and be born with it. Or we might be born with all our organs outside the chest cavity. Or missing legs, etc. Slight mutations that may contribute, or even improve our survival. Take lactose intolerance for example.
Sometimes, the instructions get very messed up. Take for example 'small' people or midgets, to be impolite. Exactly like everyone else, just portions of them didn't get the same instructions for development.
I would guess this being's developmental instructions were very 'corrupt'. Normally such a mutation wouldn't live, but apparently it did. Sometimes such beings might even thrive, and a new species is created.