Science Programme
All events are at BRLSI, 16 Queen Square, Bath BA1 2HN, and start at 7.30pm unless otherwise stated.
■ What Do We Now Know About the
Causes of Evolution?
Causes of Evolution?
Professor Brian Charlesworth FRS
University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
Charles Darwin showed that evolution happened. He also proposed that it was caused by natural selection. This has now been confirmed by advances in genetics, and in studies of wild and human populations, although other forces contribute to evolutionary change.
BRLSI Victor Suchar Christmas Lecture 2008
BRLSI Victor Suchar Christmas Lecture 2008
Tuesday 16 December 2008
Professor Michael Benton
University of Bristol
University of Bristol
Darwin understood the broad outlines of the history of life. But work by palaeontologists has since revealed far more than was known to the Victorians about the origin of life, human evolution, dinosaurs, mass extinctions, and how continental drift and changes of climate have affected evolution.
Friday 30 January 2009
Dr Phil Donoghue
University of Bristol
University of Bristol
In The Origin Darwin went out of his way to apologise for a fossil record that offered more problems than support for his theory. Subsequent fossil discoveries have changed this relationship greatly, showing clearly the gradual emergence of familiar animals from unfamiliar ancestors and, from fossil embryos, providing insight into the development and evolution of the earliest animals.
Friday 27 February 2009 - Event Report
■ The Evolution of Promiscuity—What Do The Birds Tell Us About Ourselves?
Professor Tim Birkhead
University of Sheffield
University of Sheffield
The idea that monogamy is the most common mating system for both birds and humans is a myth. Darwin knew this, yet chose to ignore it. Across the animal kingdom female promiscuity is virtually ubiquitous, and monogamy a rarity. Why?
Friday 27 March 2009
■ The Importance of Genetics in the Understanding of Evolution
Professor Laurence Hurst
University of Bath
University of Bath
Natural Selection was first thought to be the most obvious idea, yet the discovery of Mendelian genetics was needed for its validity to be recognised. This talk will explore why this was so and how, when genetics came to be better understood, we recognised that selection can do very weird things, and how an alter- native explanation for evolution emerged.
Friday 24 April 2009
■ The Descent of Man
Professor Adam Eyre-Walker
University of Sussex
University of Sussex
Evolution is usually thought of as a march towards ever increasing perfection. However, evolution can also go backwards, such that fitness decreases and organisms can become less well adapted to their environment. Surprisingly, there is some evidence for such a loss of fitness in humans.
Friday 8 May 2009
■ The Hidden Treasures of Genomes— Adventures in DNA ArchaeologyNEW DATE (see below)
Professor Chris Ponting
University of Oxford
University of Oxford
Recently the evolutionary heritage of the platypus has been unearthed by a team of ‘DNA archaeologists’, carefully comparing its genome with those of many animals and birds. These comparisons provide dates of when mammals gained milk or lost the ability to lay eggs, and highlight the genetic changes that distinguish some species, such as primates, from others.
Friday 26 June 2009
Rescheduled to Tuesday 14 July
■ Darwin’s Secret—Was the Theory of Evolution Really Held Back for 20 Years?
■ Darwin’s Secret—Was the Theory of Evolution Really Held Back for 20 Years?
Dr John van Wyhe, Editor of Darwin Online
University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
Charles Darwin conceived his theory in 1837/8 but only published it in 1858/9. There have been many attempts to explain why the great man held back for so long. However, reviewing Darwin’s activity during these years, it is proposed that we have had a fundamental chapter in Darwin’s life quite wrong.
Friday 24 July 2009
■ Tales of the Red Queen—Why Parasites Can Be Particularly Important Drivers of Evolution NEW DATE (see below)
Professor Greg Hurst
University of Liverpool
University of Liverpool
In this talk evidence will be outlined of the ‘Red Queen process’ analogous to that described by Lewis Carroll, where hosts and their parasites are involved in a permanent struggle, and where standing still means death. It will be argued that the conflicts of interest that this illustrates make for particularly potent drivers of evolution.
Friday 12 June 2009
Rescheduled to Friday 11 September
■ The New Science of Evo Devo—Probing the Genetics of Animal Diversity
Professor Peter Holland FRS
University of Oxford
University of Oxford
For Darwin, embryonic development and
evolution were inseparable concepts, but in the early 20th century these related subjects became quite separate, and it took another half century before they came together again. Today the new science of Evo-Devo (Evolutionary Development) aims to reveal how our common heritage in the development of form leads to the diversity of life on Earth.
evolution were inseparable concepts, but in the early 20th century these related subjects became quite separate, and it took another half century before they came together again. Today the new science of Evo-
Friday 18 September 2009
■ Molecules and the Tree of Life—Surprising Relations
Professor Michael Akam FRS
University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
For almost a hundred years, biologists held a fairly stable view of the major pattern of animal relationships. Deciphering genomes has shown that some of these well-established views were wrong. We have had to redraw the tree, and that has made us think again about how the characteristics of today’s animals evolved.
Friday 23 October 2009
■ Natural Selection—from Chimpanzees and Neanderthals to Modern Humans
Dr. Steve Dorus
University of Bath
University of Bath
Comparisons between the human genome and genomes of our closest primate relatives now allow us to catalogue genetic changes specific to human evolution. Evolutionary biologists are trying to define the role of natural selection in the descent of humans. Completion of the Neanderthal genome may provide further fascinating insights into the evolutionary genetics of modern humans
Friday 13 November 2009
■ The Origin of Our Species
Professor Chris Stringer FRS
Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum
Human evolution can be considered in two stages: a pre-human phase in Africa more than 2 million years ago, where walking upright had evolved but many other characteristics were still ape-like, and a human phase, with an increase in brain size and behavioural complexity. Evidence points strongly to Africa as the major centre for genetic, physical and behavioural origins of humans.
Friday 27 November 2009 (14.30)
■ Is Evolution Over?
Professor Steve Jones
University College London
University College London
For this final lecture celebrated geneticist Steve Jones has chosen to speak on the question ‘Is Evolution Over?’, which seems an excellent topic with which to conclude the science series and mark the end of the Darwin & Beyond Programme.
BRLSI Victor Suchar Christmas Lecture 2009
BRLSI Victor Suchar Christmas Lecture 2009
Friday 11 December 2009
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