Two individuals with the same disease - but separated by 1.7 million years. Scientists realised that both individuals had osteosarcoma, an aggressive form of bone cancer.The international team of academics were able to conclude that they had found the earliest evidence of cancer in the human fossil record.The osteosarcoma was found on a foot bone excavated at Swartkrans, in the Cradle of Humankind.Other researchers, in a paper released today, describe the earliest-known bony tumour in human pre-history, found on the vertebra of an Australopithecus sediba child, which has been dated to about 1.98million years ago.Scientists used the European Synchrotron Research Facility, in Grenoble, France, medical CT scans and a micro-CT facility at the Nuclear Energy Corporation, at Pelindaba, to help them recognise the cancer in the bone. But it was a comparison with a modern bone amputated from a person suffering from osteosarcoma that provided the final proof."When you compare it to the modern pathology, it looks exactly the same," said Edward Odes, of Wits University's School of Anatomical Sciences. Odes was the lead author of the report.It is not clear, said Odes, if the cancer had killed the Swartkrans individual because the rest of the skeleton had not been found, but it was likely to have caused a lot of pain.The discovery, Odes believes, could help in our understanding of cancer, which has been linked to dietary and environmental factors that did not exist 1.7million years ago."Cancer is a very ancient part of our evolution, and the question now is what is the mechanism behind the pathology," said Odes.The sediba child's death was probably linked to the bony tumour on its back.Academics believe the benign neoplasm found on the vertebrae of the sediba child, known as Karabo, was likely to have limited movement on his right side."Sediba is believed to have climbed trees, but this individual would have battled to do so," said Patrick Randolph-Quinney, of Wits University and the University of Central Lancashire, in the UK.The child died after falling into a hole and the tumour would almost certainly have prevented him from climbing out.BUCKETS OF RESEARCHThe Ice Bucket Challenge has done more than create hundreds of YouTube videos of drenched celebrities - the money raised has led to a significant scientific discovery.The 2014 challenge raised awareness of and money for research into motor neuron disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The ALS Association raised about$100-million and contributed $1-million to Project MinE, an international study to sequence the genomes of at least 15000 people with ALS.Sky News said the research led to the discovery of a new ALS gene, called NEK1, which has provided scientists with another potential target for therapy development for the disease.- Staff reporter..