Named Homo naledi, the species has been assigned to the genus Homo, to which modern humans also belong. The bones (pictured top right) were located in the Rising Star cave system in South Africa's Gauteng province, in a remote chamber that can only be accessed via several steep climbs and fissures. The age of the the skeletons are also yet to be determined. It is not yet clear how more than a dozen H. naledi skeletons - ranging from babies to elderly individuals - ended up in a remote region of a large cave. The researchers have not ruled out the possibility of the bodies having been disposed of in the cave deliberately, or a catastrophic 'death trap' scenario in which the humans entered the cave and all died of an unknown cause.
Experts discovered an 'extraordinary' line of 4,500-year-old giant stones 90 or more stones, lying 3ft underground
The 'tornado's' rampage lasted 40 hours between September 1 and 3, according to Nasas Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO).
Is a comet about to destroy Earth? Best-selling author GRAHAM HANCOCK argues that a cosmic explosion will soon strike Earth - triggering epic floods
Pluto's secrets revealed: New Horizons sends back incredible new high resolution images that reveal 'bewildering array' of features from ice flows and valleys to dunes
'If an artist had painted this Pluto before our flyby, I probably would have called it over the top,' but that's what is actually there,' said New Horizons Principal Investigator Alan Stern on seeing the new images. Main image: synthetic perspective view of Pluto, based on the latest high-resolution images from Nasa's New Horizons spacecraft, shows what you would see if you were approximately 1,100 miles (1,800 kilometers) above Pluto's equatorial area, looking northeast over the dark, cratered, informally named Cthulhu Regio toward the bright, smooth, expanse of icy plains informally called Sputnik Planum. The entire expanse of terrain seen in this image is 1,100 miles (1,800 kilometers) across. Insets show the rockey craters seen on the planet.
Siberian 'spa' for woolly mammoths hints at beast's demise: Creatures desperately sought minerals from mud baths as the climate abruptly changed
Paleontologist Sergey Leshchinsky (pictured top right) is convinced that osteoporosis was a key cause of the demise of the woolly mammoth (illustrated bottom right), after finding thousands of ancient bones at many sites riddled by the disease (pictured left). By massing at a 'salt lick' near the modern-day village of Novodubrovsky village in Novosibirsk region, the giant mammals were seeking to restore their ailing health.
- Watch a SOLAR 'TORNADO' swirl across the surface of the sun: 5 million °F mass of plasma spun for 40 hours
- Pluto's secrets revealed: New Horizons sends back incredible new high resolution images that reveal 'bewildering array' of features from ice flows and valleys to dunes
- Would YOU take orders from a robot? Hitachi hires machine manager for its warehouse workers
- The cheese emoji is on its way! Developers get a sneak peek at the new symbols coming to iOS 9.1 including a taco, robot and a unicorn
- Is this the first human? Extraordinary find in a South African cave suggests man may be up to 2.8million years old
- 'Lightning claw' dinosaur found in Australia: 23-ft long predator is largest carnivore found in the region
- Cat lovers rejoice! New Sphynxiebob and Bambob breeds are revealed to the world
- Is a comet about to destroy Earth? Best-selling author GRAHAM HANCOCK argues that a cosmic explosion will soon strike Earth – triggering epic floods
- Do aliens think humans are SEXIST? Experts debate whether pictures sent into space on Pioneer 10 spacecraft make women look 'submissive'
- Volunteers who stayed in bed for a week and ate 6,000 calories of pizza and burgers every day in the name of science developed medical issues in just TWO DAYS
- How much do YOU know about science? Take the interactive test that researchers used to find the average American only gets a C grade
- Google turns your phone into a credit card: Android Pay launches in battle with Apple
- Smart pill that can tell doctors if you haven't taken it takes major step forward
- Men, are you looking for love? Then SMILE: Males who want a long-lasting relationship should look happy (and scowling will attract women who fancy a fling)
- The rich don't mingle: Wealthy jetsetters are in a 'social bubble' and mix less with foreigners
- Man, the LAZY species: We're wired to save energy - and vigorous exercise burns fewer calories than we think
- Your lover's skin isn't as soft as you think: Sensation is an illusion created by your brain to enhance sex, study reveals
- Steve Jobs would NOT approve: Apple unveils 'monster' iPad Pro with a $100 'pencil' the late co-founder famously said nobody wants
- How much do YOU know about science? Take the interactive test that researchers used to find the average American only gets a C grade
- Is this the first human? Extraordinary find in a South African cave suggests man may be up to 2.8million years old
- Could BOMBING Mars make it habitable? Nuclear warheads would heat the red planet to make it more Earth-like, claims Elon Musk
- Pluto's secrets revealed: New Horizons sends back incredible new high resolution images that reveal 'bewildering array' of features from ice flows and valleys to dunes
- Human head transplant edges closer to reality: Chinese surgeon teams up with Italian doctor to perform procedure in 2017
- Stunning animation reveals 'shocking' similarity between this year's El Niño and monster weather system of 1997
- Apple goes super-size! Tech giant reveals iPhone 6s and 6s Plus with new 3D touch screen, 'monster' 12.9inch iPad Pro and TV box to put apps and games on the big screen
- Volunteers who stayed in bed for a week and ate 6,000 calories of pizza and burgers every day in the name of science developed medical issues in just TWO DAYS
- A stellar lineup! Astronaut captures incredible images of Earth, moon AND Venus from onboard the ISS
- Apple under fire for iPad Pro demonstration that 'fixed' a model's photograph with Photoshop app to make her SMILE
- Star Trek-style teleportation IS possible: Theoretical physicist believes we could be beaming to other planets 'within decades'
- The cheese emoji is on its way! Developers get a sneak peek at the new symbols coming to iOS 9.1 including a taco, robot and a unicorn
- Resurrecting a monster virus: Scientists to 'awaken' bug that has laid dormant in frozen Siberian wastelands for 30,000 years
- Step inside the SPACE DRAGON: SpaceX reveals final design for revolutionary manned ship that will take astronauts to the ISS in 2017
- Cat lovers rejoice! New Sphynxiebob and Bambob breeds are revealed to the world
- Tinder rolls out the 'SUPER LIKE': Users can 'swipe up' to single out one person a day who they are especially keen on
- MOST READ IN DETAIL
GADGET REVIEWS
THIS WEEK'S TOP SCIENCE VIDEOS
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WATCH THE WORLD'S 'SWARMING' FLIGHT...
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SCIENTISTS REVEAL NEW INSIGHT INTO...
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NEO: THE 'SMART JAR' THAT HELPS YOU EAT...
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HERE'S NEPTUNE DUO: A ANDROID SMARTPHONE...
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SKIN DAMAGE FROM UV LIGHT CAN OCCUR...
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WHITE BLOOD CELL SEEN DYING FOR FIRST...
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Bizarre burial of the 'witch' of Tiree: 6,000-year-old deformed skeleton in unusual grave is the earliest case of rickets found in UK
The bones (skeleton pictured left), found in the village of Balevullin on the island of Tiree in the Inner Hebrides, were analysed by Professor Ian Armit and his teams at the University of Bradford and University of Durham. Isotopic analysis showed she was local to the area, but she didn't eat sea fish. This seaside location and supply of fish should have provided her with enough vitamin D to avoid rickets. The skeleton's arm bones are pictured right, and her deformed breastbone is pictured inset. Therefore, experts believe she was kept indoors, or wore clothing that prevented adequate absorption of sunlight.
A lost world... found! Spectacular images reveal breathtaking beauty and enormous size of a newly discovered cave in Vietnam
The cave is located near Vietnam's Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park and is believed to be an extension of a previously discovered cave called Hang Tien. The jaw-dropping pictures were snapped by adventure photographer Ryan Deboodt, 32, on August 31, after the cave was discovered for the first time by locals just one month ago.
Could BOMBING Mars make it habitable? Nuclear warheads would heat the red planet to make it more Earth-like, claims Elon Musk
Elon Musk (pictured top right), CEO of SpaceX, California, hypothesised Mars (bottom right) could be heated up quickly by dropping nuclear weapons (illustrated with a stock image, left) over its poles and said he would like to visit the red planet one day. He described it as 'a fixer upper of a planet' that could be made by Earth-like if it were warmer.
Apple fans show their bewilderment at the new huge iPad and $100 pencil with hilarious memes
Apple has unveiled a string of new products - including new iPhones, a 'monster' iPad, a $100 pencil and an upgraded version of their TV box. And after CEO Tim Cook presented the devices at a special event in San Francisco, fans immediately expressed their opinions online. Many did it through memes, and most reacted to the new, gigantic iPad Pro - which has a 12.9inch screen. It has four speakers, and is 6.9mm thin, and has a case with keyboard built in, similar to Microsoft's Surface tablet.
Apple goes super-size! Tech giant reveals iPhone 6s and 6s Plus with new 3D touch screen, 'monster' 12.9inch iPad Pro and TV box with apps and games
- Apple TV now doubles up as a GAMES CONSOLE: Touch remote can be used to play multiplayer apps on the big screen
- Steve Jobs would NOT approve: Apple unveils 'monster' iPad Pro with a $100 'pencil' the late co-founder famously said nobody wants
Apple has launched its iPhone 6s and 6s Plus alongside a giant 12.9inch iPad called the iPad Pro and an upgraded Apple TV that can run apps at a 'special event' in San Francisco. The new phones have a '3D touch' screen which can recognise how hard users are pressing, and a new improved chip and camera with a new 'selfie mode' that uses the screen as flash.
The cheese emoji is on its way! Developers get a sneak peek at the new symbols coming to iOS 9.1 including a taco, robot and a unicorn
The Unicode Consortium in California released the new emoji in June and Apple has now incorporated a number of these symbols into iOS 9.1. Developers with access to the files have released images of the new lineup and other additions include a burrito, chili pepper, new faces, a spider, crab, scorpion, and squirrel as well as a robot, unicorn, lion and turkey (pictured). Apple's iOS 9 launches next week and iOS 9.1 could be released by end of the year.
Human head transplant edges closer to reality: Chinese surgeon teams up with Italian doctor to perform procedure in 2017
Controversial specialist Sergio Canavero from Italy will partner with Chinese surgeon Ren Xiaoping to carry out the operation on Valery Spiridonov (pictured left) a 30-year-old computer scientist in Russia who has muscular atrophy. Spiridonov has previously told MailOnline he is ready to put his trust in the experts who claim they can cut off his head and attach it to a healthy body. Dr Ren has performed 1,000 head transplants on mice (pictured bottom right) and he and Dr Canavero have both been described as Frankenstein (a film still showing the monster composed of body parts is shown top right).
A stellar lineup! Astronaut captures incredible images of Earth, moon AND Venus from onboard the ISS
The shots were taken by astronaut Scott Kelly on board the International Space Station. The first image (pictured) was taken at 4.42pm yesterday and the second was taken 12 hours later - both were posted to Twitter. In each image the curvature of Earth, part of the ISS, the moon and Venus are clearly visible. Mr Kelly's second image was taken as the ISS orbited over Texas.
'Alien nuclear wars could be seen from Earth': Signals from chemical weapons on other planets would be visible, claim physicists
Researchers led by Adam Stevens at The Open University at Milton Keynes discussed the various ways in which the civilisations could end including nuclear wars (illustrated right), bioterrorism (stock illustration bottom left), the so-called 'grey goo' scenario and planetary pollution. For each scenario, they detailed the types of signals, such as gamma ray bursts (top left) that each would emit into the atmosphere and the likelihood of these signals being picked up with technology on Earth. They believe that this approach may present the best chance of finding any evidence of intelligent life beyond Earth.
The alien spots of Ceres revealed in unprecedented detail: Dawn probe captures stunning new images of mysterious features
Nasa today revealed stunning new close up images of showing the brightest spots on the dwarf planet Ceres, and revealing the crater they are in is a mile deep in some places. Views from Dawn's current orbit, taken at an altitude of 915 miles (1,470 kilometers), have about three times better resolution than the images the spacecraft delivered from its previous orbit in June, and nearly 10 times better than in the spacecraft's first orbit at Ceres in April and May. Nasa also revealed a 3D topographic map of the area (inset).
A fortress on wheels! Range Rover debuts luxury car that can withstand a volley of bullets, grenades and even bomb blasts
The Oxfordshire-based firm said the vehicle (pictured left and bottom right), likely suited to billionaires and statesmen who are at risk of kidnapping, provides the 'highest levels of protection an SUV can offer against a wide variety of attacks.' A diagram showing the security features is shown top right. It can withstand being under fire from 7.62mm high velocity, armour piercing incendiary bullets thanks to an 'armoured passenger cell' made of super-high-strength steel and bullet-proof glass.
VIDEO GAME REVIEWS
Stunning animation reveals 'shocking' similarity between this year's El Niño and monster weather system of 1997
The video uses the latest data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to put the 2015 El Nino next to this year's.
- Hurricanes 'unlike anything you've seen in history': Scientists warn grey swan megastorms could ravage areas ranging from Florida to Dubai
- Lightning is so powerful it changes the atomic structure of rocks: Bolts pack a punch similar to a NUCLEAR BOMB or meteor impact
- Does Earth have SEVERAL moons? Space rocks that hop in and out of orbit could provide easy targets for asteroid exploration
Stonehenge II is found! Radar search reveals giant monument from 4,500 years ago just one mile from famous Wiltshire site
All around the world... and beyond
British photographers Fiona Rogers and Anup Shah captured apes in Indonesia and Borneo - and highlighted how human our evolutionary cousins are.