The fossil dates to about 17-18 million years ago and belongs to a newly identified species called Masripithecus. It is considered the closest known hominoid relative to the lineage that eventually led to all living apes, including humans. Scientists generally agree that the earliest apes (stem hominoids) first appeared in Afro-Arabia during the Oligocene Epoch more than 25 million years ago. These early apes later spread into Eurasia between about 14 and 16 million years ago during the Miocene. Still, the exact origin of modern apes, which include all living species and their last common ancestor, remains uncertain because fossils from this time are rare, scattered, and often difficult to interpret. This challenge is made worse by gaps in Africa’s fossil record, where most discoveries come from a limited number of locations, leaving large areas from this period unexplored.

Masripithecus moghraensis and Early Ape Diversity

Shorouq Al-Ashqar and colleagues describe the fossil, which was found in the Wadi Moghra region of northern Egypt and dates to around 17-18 million years ago. The species, named Masripithecus moghraensis, provides new insight into ape diversity during a key period when Afro-Arabia was becoming connected to Eurasia, allowing species to spread beyond Africa.

To determine how this species fits into the evolutionary history of humans, the researchers used a Bayesian “tip-dating” method. This approach combines anatomical features with fossil ages to estimate evolutionary relationships and divergence times. Their results indicate that Masripithecus is a stem hominoid closely related to the lineage that eventually gave rise to all modern apes.

New Clues to the Origins of Modern Apes

Based on their findings, the researchers suggest that modern apes may have originated in northern Afro-Arabia, the Levant, or the eastern Mediterranean. This challenges long-standing assumptions and highlights how much remains unknown about the early evolution of apes and humans.

This earthquake was triggered by a strike-slip fault, where two large sections of the Earth’s crust move horizontally past each other along a vertical fracture. To someone watching, it would appear as if the ground had split along a clear line, with each side being forced in opposite directions.

Previous studies based on seismic recordings suggested that earthquakes like this may involve a pulse-like rupture and slightly curved motion along the fault. However, those conclusions were based on instruments located far from the fault zone, meaning the observations were indirect.

Rare CCTV Footage Captures Fault Movement

In this case, a CCTV camera recorded the fault as it moved, creating a rare opportunity for researchers at Kyoto University to observe the rupture as it happened. (See video link at bottom of article.) This kind of direct visual evidence is extremely unusual in earthquake research.

Frame-by-Frame Analysis Reveals Extreme Speed

The research team used a method called pixel cross-correlation to examine the video frame by frame and measure how the ground shifted. Their findings show that the fault moved sideways by 2.5 meters in just 1.3 seconds, reaching a top speed of 3.2 meters per second.

While this amount of sideways movement is typical for strike-slip earthquakes, the very short duration of the motion stands out as a significant discovery.

“The brief duration of motion confirms a pulse-like rupture, characterized by a concentrated burst of slip propagating along the fault, much like a ripple traveling down a rug when flicked from one end,” says corresponding author Jesse Kearse.

Curved Fault Motion Challenges Assumptions

The analysis also revealed that the path of the slip was slightly curved. This matches earlier geological observations from faults around the world and suggests that fault movement is often not perfectly straight, as commonly assumed.

The study highlights the value of using video footage to monitor fault activity, offering a new way to study earthquakes in detail. Observations like these can improve understanding of how earthquakes unfold and help scientists better estimate the shaking that may occur during future large events.

“We did not anticipate that this video record would provide such a rich variety of detailed observations. Such kinematic data is critical for advancing our understanding of earthquake source physics,” says Kearse.

Next Steps in Earthquake Research

The researchers plan to build on these findings by using physics-based models to explore what controls fault behavior, using the new data revealed by this analysis.

Working with Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, the University of Greenwich, and the Technical University of Denmark, the scientists engineered a diet that mimics the key nutrients bees normally get from pollen.

When tested, colonies fed this supplement produced up to 15 times more young. The findings were published in the journal Nature.

Bees Are Starving for the Right Nutrients

Honeybees rely on pollen as their main food source. It contains essential lipids called sterols that are critical for growth and development.

But climate change and intensive farming have reduced the variety of flowers bees depend on. As a result, bees are increasingly missing key nutrients.

Beekeepers often use artificial pollen substitutes made from protein flour, sugars, and oils. These provide calories but lack the sterols bees need, leaving colonies nutritionally deficient.

A Lab-Made Solution Using Engineered Yeast

To fill this gap, researchers engineered the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica to produce a precise mix of six essential sterols.

They added this yeast to bee diets and tested it over three months in controlled glasshouse experiments. The enclosed setup ensured bees ate only the experimental feed.

Colonies Grew Faster and Stayed Healthier

The results were dramatic. Colonies receiving the enriched diet produced up to 15 times more larvae that reached the pupal stage compared with those on standard diets.

They also continued raising brood throughout the entire study period. Colonies without sterols stopped producing brood after about 90 days.

Even more striking, the nutrient profile of larvae matched that of bees feeding naturally, suggesting the supplement closely replicates real pollen nutrition.

Scientists Say This Could Be a Game Changer

Senior author Professor Geraldine Wright (Department of Biology, University of Oxford), said: “Our study demonstrates how we can harness synthetic biology to solve real-world ecological challenges. Most of the pollen sterols used by bees are not available naturally in quantities that could be harvested on a commercial scale, making it otherwise impossible to create a nutritionally complete feed that is a substitute for pollen.”

Lead author Dr. Elynor Moore (Department of Biology, University of Oxford at the time of the study, now Delft University of Technology) added: “For bees, the difference between the sterol-enriched diet and conventional bee feeds would be comparable to the difference for humans between eating balanced, nutritionally complete meals and eating meals missing essential nutrients like essential fatty acids. Using precision fermentation, we are now able to provide bees with a tailor-made feed that is nutritionally complete at the molecular level.”

Cracking the Code of Bee Nutrition

To figure out what bees actually need, researchers analyzed tissues from pupae and adult bees. This required extremely delicate lab work, including dissecting individual nurse bees.

They identified six key sterols that dominate bee biology: 24-methylenecholesterol, campesterol, isofucosterol, β-sitosterol, cholesterol, and desmosterol.

CRISPR and Yeast Make It Scalable

Using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, the team programmed Yarrowia lipolytica to produce these sterols efficiently.

This yeast was chosen because it naturally produces lipids, is safe for food use, and can be scaled up for industrial production. The final supplement is made by growing the yeast in bioreactors and drying it into a powder.

Why This Matters for Food and Farming

Honeybees help produce more than 70% of major global crops. But their populations are under severe pressure from poor nutrition, climate change, parasites, disease, and pesticides.

In the U.S., annual colony losses have ranged from 40 to 50% in recent years and could reach as high as 60 to 70% in 2025.

This new supplement could strengthen bee health without increasing competition for limited wildflowers. It may even evolve into a complete nutritional feed.

Helping Wild Bees Too

Co-author Professor Phil Stevenson (RBG Kew and Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich) added: “Honey bees are critically important pollinators for the production of crops such as almonds, apples, and cherries and so are present in some crop locations in very large numbers, which can put pressure on limited wildflowers. Our engineered supplement could therefore benefit wild bee species by reducing competition for limited pollen supplies.”

A Potential Breakthrough for Beekeepers

Danielle Downey (Executive Director of honeybee research nonprofit Project Apis m., not affiliated with the study) said: “We rely on honey bees to pollinate one in three bites of our food, yet bees face many stressors. Good nutrition is one way to improve their resilience to these threats, and in landscapes with dwindling natural forage for bees, a more complete diet supplement could be a game changer. This breakthrough discovery of key phytonutrients that, when included in feed supplements, allow sustained honey bee brood rearing has immense potential to improve outcomes for colony survival, and in turn the beekeeping businesses we rely on for our food production.”

What Happens Next

Larger field trials are still needed to confirm long-term benefits. If successful, the supplement could reach farmers within two years.

The same technology could also be adapted to support other pollinators or farmed insects, opening new paths for sustainable agriculture.