Episode
NOVA: Family That Walks on All Fours
Overview
This episode focuses on a scientific debate about five siblings in a Turkish family who walk on all fours. When, in 2005, scientist Uner Tan labeled them "genetic throwbacks," they became part of the dialogue about a possible missing link to an era when humans walked on all fours. Included: comments from geneticist Sean Carroll and anthropologist Brian Richmond, who disagree with Tan; and interviews with and footage of the family.
Details
- Series
- NOVA
- Season
- Season 33
- Episode
- Episode 18
- Air date
- 2006-11-14
- Runtime
- 55 min
Episode context
Family That Walks on All Fours is Episode 18 in Season 33 of NOVA. It aired on 2006-11-14. The runtime is 55 min.
Previous / Next
Episode 17: Wings of Madness
Nova reviews the contribution of Alberto Santos Dumont in the early days of aircraft development and his uncanny ability to abandon one line of endeavor for a technology with better long term potential.
Episode 19: ScienceNOW: Extinction
The "Nova scienceNOW" magazine delves into a case of mass extinction some 250 million years ago; investigates the 1918 influenza outbreak, which killed as many as 50 million people; details the work of MIT roboticist Cynthia Breazeal's efforts to create "sociable robots"; and examines attempts to decipher 2000-year-old papyrus scrolls. Neil deGrasse Tyson hosts.
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