Turkish siblings moving on all fours, baffle
scientists Turkish siblings moving on all fours, baffle
scientists
Walking on all fours might be fun for some, but
for the members of one
Turkish family, it’s the only way to move around,
according to the BBC. Five siblings of the 19-member Ulas family, from
Hatay Province, suffer
from a rare disability – they lack the balance and
stability required to
stand up straight, forcing them to move on all
four limbs. The family, who were first discovered in 2005,
featured in a BBC
documentary film the following year. The film
revealed that of the five
siblings, two sisters and a brother have only
walked on all fours since birth. Another brother and sister sometimes
manage to walk upright.
“It’s amazing as an example of a strange, strange
aberration of human
development,” said Professor Nicholas Humphrey,
who visited the family twice during the documentary. “But their
interest is how they can
live in the modern world.”
As a result of the disorder, the siblings are often
ridiculed. However, the
family has found a way round their ordeal by letting the sisters remain
indoors most of the time, spending their time
crocheting. One of the
brothers, on the other hand, is more adventurous
– he travels to the
local village and interacts with other people. According to the film, a popular explanation for
their unusual walk –
similar to the movement of primates – was
‘reverse evolution’. Many
scientists believed that the siblings were living
proof that it is possible for humans to devolve. “I do not think they were
destined to be
quadrupeds by their genes, but their unique
genetic make-up allowed
them to be.” said Professor Humphrey.
“It has produced an extraordinary window on our past. It is physically
possible, which no one would have guessed from
the modern human
skeleton. So scientists now believe that the gait
could be a byproduct
of a hereditary condition that causes cerebellar hypoplasia, which
disturbs their sense of balance. The siblings may
have developed
quadrupedalism in order to adapt to the rare
condition known as Uner
Tan syndrome, named after the Turkish evolutionary biologist who first
studied them.
Well, it seems that while scientists are busy finding
theories to explain
the rare condition, there is no real cure in sight.
The Ulas siblings will probably have to walk this way for the rest of
their lives.
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