The Melbourne Newsroom

Dr Robyn Pickering discusses research that has confirmed the age of our possible oldest direct human ancestor at 1.98 million years old.

The discovery was made after Dr Pickering and Dr Andy Herries from La Trobe University conducted further dating of the early human fossils, Australopithecus sediba, found in South Africa last year. 

Researchers have confirmed the age of possibly our oldest direct human ancestor at 1.98 million years old.

The football World Cup in South Africa this year will have economic draw backs, not benefits, for its host country says Professor Richard Tomlinson.

"Facts are negotiable when it comes to the World Cup as it relies on the source of the facts and the context that they're put in.  However, its estimated that South Africa has spent about $4.6 billion on the event."