Il Fatto Quotidiano: Ecco il Masripithecus – scoperto in Egitto un fossile di 18 milioni di anni che riscrive la storia dell’evoluzione

Un fossile scoperto nel Sinai potrebbe riscrivere la storia dell’evoluzione dei primati e degli uomini. Si tratta di un reperto risalente a 18 milioni di anni fa, appartenente a una nuova specie denominata Masripithecus, che secondo i ricercatori potrebbe indicare l’Egitto come la culla degli antenati comuni di scimmie e umani. La scoperta, guidata da Shorouq Al-Ashqar dell’Università di Mansoura, è stata pubblicata sulla rivista Science e apre scenari inediti sulle origini degli ominoidi.
Fino a oggi, gli studiosi ritenevano che i primi ominoidi avessero avuto origine nell’Africa orientale, tra Etiopia e Kenya. I nuovi fossili suggeriscono invece che la nascita di questi primati potrebbe essere avvenuta molto più a nord, nell’attuale Egitto, e invitano a riconsiderare luoghi e tempi della nostra evoluzione. “I nuovi ritrovamenti confermano che i paleontologi potrebbero aver cercato gli antenati degli ominoidi moderni nel posto sbagliato”, sottolineano David Alba e Júlia Arias-Martorell dell’Università di Barcellona in un commento sulla stessa rivista.
Masripithecus rappresenta una tessera fondamentale per ricostruire il puzzle evolutivo dei nostri antenati e delle scimmie che, milioni di anni dopo, avrebbero dato origine a grandi primati come scimpanzé e oranghi, fino agli uomini. Gli autori dello studio evidenziano inoltre che gran parte delle ipotesi precedenti sono state influenzate dalle lacune nei ritrovamenti fossili, concentrati finora solo in alcune regioni, mentre molte altre aree del Nord Africa restano ancora inesplorate. Nuove ricerche in queste zone potrebbero dunque rivoluzionare ulteriormente la comprensione delle origini dei primati.
FOTO DI ARCHIVIO
L'articolo Ecco il Masripithecus – scoperto in Egitto un fossile di 18 milioni di anni che riscrive la storia dell’evoluzione proviene da Il Fatto Quotidiano.

Here is the Masripithecus – a fossil discovered in Egypt dating back 18 million years that is rewriting the history of evolution.

A fossil discovered in the Sinai could rewrite the history of primate and human evolution. It is a find dating back 18 million years, belonging to a new species called Masripithecus, which researchers believe may indicate Egypt as the cradle of the common ancestors of monkeys and humans. The discovery, led by Shorouq Al-Ashqar of Mansoura University, was published in the journal Science and opens new horizons on the origins of hominoids.

Until now, scholars believed that the first hominoids originated in Eastern Africa, between Ethiopia and Kenya. The new fossils suggest instead that the birth of these primates could have occurred much further north, in present-day Egypt, and invite us to reconsider the places and times of our evolution. “The new findings confirm that paleontologists may have been looking for the ancestors of modern hominoids in the wrong place,” say David Alba and Júlia Arias-Martorell of the University of Barcelona in a comment on the same journal.

Masripithecus represents a fundamental piece for reconstructing the evolutionary puzzle of our ancestors and monkeys that, millions of years later, would have given rise to great primates such as chimpanzees and orangutans, up to humans. The authors of the study also highlight that much of the previous hypotheses has been influenced by the gaps in fossil finds, concentrated so far only in some regions, while many other areas of North Africa remain unexplored. New research in these areas could therefore further revolutionize our understanding of the origins of primates.

#Egypt #Masripithecus #ShorouqAl-Ashqar #MansouraUniversity #Science #first #EasternAfrica #Ethiopia #Kenya #DavidAlba #NorthAfrica

https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2026/03/26/masripithecus-fossile-egitto-evoluzione-primati-news/8337553/

The withdrawal from the port city of Berbera by regional powers distracted by [the Iran] war, marks the end of an external system that managed the Horn of Africa—and the beginning of a deeper structural collapse.

https://africasacountry.com/2026/03/after-the-subcontracting-state

Adapted from "When Tehran Burns, the Horn Bleeds": https://www.theelephant.info/analysis/2026/03/19/when-tehran-burns-the-horn-bleeds/

#Africa #AIAC #Iran #Sudan #Ethiopia #Djibouti #Somalia

Blue Nile RSF-SPLM-N diversion underlines Ethiopian threat with the fall of Kurmuk

This marks the first success of a new #UAE /Tasis (the RSF/SPLM-N alliance) to open a diversionary front in Blue Nile state, with a rear basis in Benishangul-Gumuz (Northwestern #Ethiopia).

A SAF/SPLA-IO alliance means, at least temporarily, the threat from #SouthSudan subsided, or is of a much lesser importance.

#Sudan

https://sudanwarmonitor.com/p/sudanese-rebels-overrun-army-garrison-ethiopia-border

The globalisation of electric vehicles

Not so long ago Norway was the big story in electric vehicles. They were one of the earliest movers, with subsidies for EVs and privileged access to parking and bus lanes. It was the first country to cross the rubicon and sell more EVs than petrol and diesel cars.

In a graph of global EV sales from 2019 it’s well ahead of the pack, trailed by a handful of Northern European countries. Everywhere else, at least nine out of ten new cars sold are still fossil fueled.

A lot has changed in five years, as described in this recent report from Ember.

Norway still leads and is still out front, but everything in the chasing pack has changed. The most dramatic movement is China, which has leapt past the 50% mark. In raw numbers, it outsells everyone else on the planet: of all new EVs sold, two thirds are in China. This graph only covers passenger cars. China leads the way on electric buses and ebikes too, which I consider to be more important in the grander scheme of green transport.

China matters for its own sales, and also for its exports. It is cheaper EV brands from China that are enabling the rapid shift elsewhere in Asia and beyond. Singapore and Vietnam and Nepal have overtaken much of Western Europe on EV adoption.

Speaking of Nepal, it’s interesting to see them and Ethiopia in the top five for EV sales, albeit at smaller numbers. Those are two very different countries, but with some common features that explain their prioritising of electric transport. Both have no oil reserves and have to import it. Both are landlocked, which makes all fossil fuel imports really expensive. On the positive side, Nepal and Ethiopia both have abundant cheap hydroelectric power and run on 100% renewable energy. EVs make spectacular sense, reducing their vulnerability to price spikes and boosting the local economy.

Similar factors explain those lagging behind. The US and Canada both have lots of oil and the case for EVs is less obvious. The Middle East is practically invisible in the graph, with the exception of Israel, which lacks oil reserves of its own. Moving slowly on electric vehicles will have consequences, and it’s notable that both the US and Canada wound down their incentives for them in 2025. Turning their backs on EVs politically risks locking the continent into an older technology. They won’t have the infrastructure domestically, and American car companies will fall behind on exports. North American citizens won’t see the benefits of cheaper transport, quieter cities and cleaner air that others will see elsewhere.

For oil producers, EVs are still seen as a threat rather than an opportunity. The world is leaving them behind. That’s their loss and we should not mourn the decline in geopolitical power of the fossil fuel producers. Consider the ongoing reality of wars and regime change for oil. Remember the ongoing destruction of the atmosphere for profit. Compare the vulnerability of global oil supply chains and locally produced renewable energy, and ask which one you’d rather build an economy around.

Taking these sorts of questions on board, this graph of EV sales tells us a lot more than who is buying electric cars. It tells a story about a slow and vast shift in power, away from the pollution and colonial violence of fossil fuels, and towards clean local power. For those choosing electric, like Nepal and Ethiopia, it’s about independence and self-reliance just as much as it is about the environment. Green technology has the potential to be liberating for people and for the planet.

MENA News Highlights - 23 Mar. ‘26 - Zuhur News on: #Libya #Algeria #Lebanon #Iran #Gaza #Tunisia #Egypt #Jordan #Israel #Arad #Dimona #Palestine #Sudan #UAE #Ethiopia #China #ConscientiousObjectors please consider subscribing. #press

https://www.patreon.com/posts/153746438?utm_campaign=postshare_creator

Two men on a boat on the Awash River, Ethiopia, 1956

https://piefed.social/c/historyphotos/p/1908507/two-men-on-a-boat-on-the-awash-river-ethiopia-1956