Produced by: Mohsin Shaikh
A Turkish family stunned scientists by walking on all fours—a trait unseen in modern adults. Evolutionary experts are still puzzled by this baffling phenomenon.
Credit: 60 Minutes Australia/YouTube
Could the Ulas family reveal how early humans once walked? Their unique quadrupedalism might hold secrets to our past.
MRI scans showed brain abnormalities in affected siblings, yet other people with similar damage walk upright. So what’s really at play?
Some researchers believe their condition "undid three million years of evolution," but is there really a single "bipedal gene"?
Credit: 60 Minutes Australia/YouTube
Unlike chimps and gorillas, who walk on knuckles, the Ulas siblings use their palms—keeping fingers dexterous for embroidery and tools.
Raised in a remote village without medical support, the children weren’t encouraged to stand. Could this alone explain their quadrupedalism?
Given walking frames, the siblings took their first upright steps within hours. Proof that habit—not just genetics—shaped their movement?
Credit: 60 Minutes Australia/YouTube
Professor Humphrey suggests the Ulas' walk might resemble a lost phase of human evolution—a crucial step before full bipedalism.
Despite their unusual gait, the Ulas siblings defy expectations, proving that even the most extreme conditions can't suppress the human spirit.
Credit: 60 Minutes Australia/YouTube