An image from the Bigfoot Museum in Willow Creek. (Photo: Flickr / Bob Doran)

Bigfoot's DNA has apparently been discovered, according to a press release from DNA Diagnostics.

The organization claims that a five-year study has determined that a Sasquatch does in fact exist and is in fact a hybrid of Homo Sapiens (humans) and primates.

"Sasquatch nuclear DNA is incredibly novel and not at all what we had expected," said Dr. Melba S. Ketchum, leader of the study, in the press release. "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."

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It sounds exciting, but just how legit are Ketchum's claims?

According to several reports, the idea that Bigfoot's DNA has been discovered is dubious, at best.

As Benjamin Radford, the deputy editor of Skeptical Inquirer, notes, this study has not yet appeared in any peer-reviewed journal. He also notes that it is doubtful that Bigfoot's mitochondrial DNA is identical to human's as Ketchum's study claims.

The only way this would be possible, Radford says, is if Sasquatches reproduced with women over 15,000 years ago (when this Bigfoot supposedly existed), or, the samples were contaminated. While Ketchum believes the former scenario, Radford (and isciencetimes) thinks the latter is more likely.

There are plenty of other issues with this supposed Bigfoot DNA discovery, as the Houston Chronicle points out. First of all, nowhere in the press release does anyone from  DNA Diagnostics state where this supposed Bigfoot DNA came from. You would think that would be a major part of the story that the scientists would want to tell.

Also, the Chronicle story notes that the scientists in question announced their findings before they had been published or even vetted by others. This is rarely done in the scientific community, according to the article.

Finally, DNA Diagnostics has been given an "F" grade by the Better Business Bureau, and over two dozen people have complained about its services.

It's fun to think about the idea that Bigfoot's DNA has been discovered. But, unfortunately, this story is about as difficult to believe as all the other previous Sasquatch sightings.