The remarkable remains of two ancient human-like creatures (hominids) have been found in South Africa. The fossils of a female adult and a juvenile male - perhaps mother and son - are just under two million years old.
They were uncovered in cave deposits near Malapa in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site near Johannesburg. The team behind the discovery reports in the journal Science that the new species should be assigned the name Australopithecus sediba.
Its mosaic of features, the researchers believe, means it fills an important gap between older hominids and the group of more modern species known as Homo, which includes our own kind.
"It's at the point where we transition from an ape that walks on two legs to, effectively, us," lead scientist Professor Lee Berger of the University of the Witwatersrand told BBC News.
More + Video...
Skywatchers in the Americas have caught a rare celestial show caused by the Earth's shadow falling...
In a north London hospital, scientists are growing noses, ears and blood vessels in the laboratory...
We all know the Darwin fish, the car-bumper send-up of the Christian "ichthys" symbol, or Jesus...
A materials scientist at Iowa has developed electronics and materials able to dissolve on command.Reza Montazami,...
