May 27, 2015
Before a fascinated audience gathered in The Rees Hotel conference room, Professor Craig Millar of the Allan Wilson Centre delivered the public lecture Ancient DNA: Secrets from the Past.
Professor Millar offered a sweeping overview of how the advancement of the science of the very small (DNA) has the power to answer questions of the very large:
- From compelling evidence at CSI-style crime scenes solving the largest of crimes;
- to the history of humanity across thousands of years, from today back to ancient Egypt and beyond;
- and offering insight into the development and evolution of the entire natural world around us, with particular reference to Professor Millar’s own research into some of the biggest birds known, the New Zealand Moa(s).
With an entertaining and engaging style (was I the only one threatened with being clipped over the ear with a Moa thigh bone if I continued to misbehave?), Professor Millar brought the audience to the world of DNA, and offered us all a ‘beginner’s guide’ to its incredible power to explore and explain the world of us.
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