A new ape from Türkiye and the radiation of late Miocene hominines

Fossil apes from the eastern Mediterranean are central to the debate on African ape and human (hominine) origins. Current research places them either as hominines, as hominins (humans and our fossil relatives) or as stem hominids, no more closely related to hominines than to pongines (orangutans and their fossil relatives). Here we show, based on our analysis of a newly identified genus, Anadoluvius, from the 8.7 Ma site of Çorakyerler in central Anatolia, that Mediterranean fossil apes are diverse, and are part of the first known radiation of early members of the hominines. The members of this radiation are currently only identified in Europe and Anatolia; generally accepted hominins are only found in Africa from the late Miocene until the Pleistocene. Hominines may have originated in Eurasia during the late Miocene, or they may have dispersed into Eurasia from an unknown African ancestor. The diversity of hominines in Eurasia suggests an in situ origin but does not exclude a dispersal hypothesis.

Sacral spina bifida occulta rare occurrence in Byzantine Belentepe population in Muğla, Turkey: A possible case for adequate folic acid intake

Spina bifida may occur during the first weeks after conception; folic acid deficiency is strongly related to this anomaly. We argue that the low prevalence rate of spina bifida may indicate a relatively good nutrition state of a population, given that folic acid is found in many food products commonly eaten. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between folic acid intake and spina bifida occulta prevalence in the Belentepe Byzantine population in Anatolian peninsula, and to compare the prevalence rates with various other ancient Anatolian populations by focusing on sacral spina bifida occulta in the Byzantine population. A total of 62 available human sacra were included in the study and compared with other sacra from relevant research using chi-squared test. Four male individuals had sacral spina bifida occulta with a prevalence rate of 6.45%, which is found to be lower in comparison to other ancient populations from western to eastern Anatolia. The present-day ecology of Belentepe indicates that foods rich with folic acid are common in and around the region. While some studies indicate the contrary, a comparison regarding the sacral spina bifida occulta prevalence with other populations in Anatolia shows a correlation between folic acid intake and proximity to a Mediterranean climate.