One result of the acceptance of the evolutionary theory is a belief that the gap between man and the lower primates is much less than previously supposed. When it was believed by most scientists that man was a direct creation by God, man was seen to be clearly distinct and different. Evolution on the contrary, stresses a continuity between the lowest form of life and the highest. Evolutionary theory has permeated virtually all of the sciences, and humanities, and even the study of language ability. For many years, it was accepted that language ability is unique to man and, that, biologically, animals do not have the brain structure or the speech mechanism needed to use language. This idea has been challenged for the past decade or so. New research, though, indicates that the older view, i.e. that there is a chasm between man and the animals regarding language ability, is probably more correct.