Scientists have discovered a new and tiny species of human that lived in Indonesia at the same time our own ancestors were colonising the world.

The new species - dubbed "the Hobbit" due to its small size - lived on Flores island until at least 12,000 years ago.

'Hobbit' joins human family tree

] If we accept the idea that we are born with a large
] amount of damage, it follows that even small improvements
] to the processes of early human development - ones
] that increase the numbers of initially functional
] elements - could result in a remarkable fall in
] mortality and a significant extension of human life.
] Indeed, there is mounting evidence now in support of the
] idea of fetal origins of adult degenerative diseases and
] early-life programming of aging and longevity.

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