Cancer found in ancient foot

A fossilised human foot bone from South Africa dating back 1.7 million years contains the oldest evidence of malignant cancer on record. Scientists discovered signs of osteosarcoma, an aggressive form of bone cancer, in a metatarsal – one of the one-and-a-half-metre-long bones that connect to the toes. Experts do not know precisely what species the bone belonged to, but are certain it was an ancient human and not an ape. The find challenges the view that cancer is a "modern" disease linked to unhealthy lifestyles, environmental pollution and longevity. An accompanying paper published in the same journal, the South African Journal of Science, documents an even older benign tumour. This was found in the vertebrae of a child who lived almost two million years ago, and is the oldest tumour ever seen in a human fossil. Researcher Edward Odes, from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, who took part in both studies, said: "Modern medicine tends to assume that cancers and tumours in humans are diseases caused by modern lifestyles and environments. Our studies show the origins of these diseases occurred in our ancient relatives millions of years before modern industrial...

from timesofmalta.com http://ift.tt/2agGVoy
via IFTTT