May 14 (UPI) -- New research sheds light on how chimpanzees self-medicate wounds with plants and provide aid to other chimps.
A new report published Tuesday in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution provides fresh clues on the origin of human medical care and how primates -- such as chimps, orangutans and gorillas -- utilize natural resources as medicine in scores of ways to stay healthy.
"Understanding the cognitive and social foundations of healthcare behaviors in humans requires examining their evolutionary precursors in our closest living relatives," the report starts.
Chimpanzees and its similar primate species, bonobos monkeys, are known to be the closest genetic relative to the human race.
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