WASHINGTON >> Bipedal locomotion — walking upright on two legs — is a fundamental trait underpinning humankind’s success. Scientists have now identified two innovations that occurred long ago in the human evolutionary lineage that reshaped the pelvis and helped facilitate this defining characteristic.

The researchers examined the genetic basis for bipedalism, an ability that distinguishes humans from other primates, by studying stored samples of embryonic tissues from people and various other primate species, discerning a pair of genetic shifts that took place in our ancestors.

The first of these innovations involved cartilage formation during embryonic pelvic development. It allowed the ilium, the bone forming the upper part of the pelvis, to morph from being tall, flat and narrow, as i

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