Between a Rock and a Research Place (Paleontology Part 1)

Not Another Science Podcast

What did the very first animals look like? Pretty weird, apparently. PhD student Ruaridh Alexander is studying the fossils of the earliest animals to understand how they evolved on the cusp of the Cambrian explosion, a period over 500 million years ago where the diversity of animal life suddenly skyrocketed.

Ruaridh tells us about the average day on a dig in the desert finding fossils, how you go about classifying a new species, and what these incredibly ancient rocks can tell us about life on Earth through the ages. You can keep up with Ruaridh's work on Twitter @RuaridhAlexande

Keep an eye out in the next week for the second part of our paleontology parade as we delve deeper into the world of dinosaurs for our season finale.

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Not Another Science Podcast was co-created by Helena Cornu and Tom Edwick, brought to you by Edinburgh University Science Media (@EUSci). The hosts are Kelsey Tetley-Campbell and Katie Pickup and our Podcast Manager is Tracy Wang. The logo was designed by Apple Chew, and the cover art was designed by Elizabeth Carmichael.

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Music by Kevin Macleod:

https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3788-funkorama;

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Music by Professor Colin Campbell:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZhfAZ-gCEQ&ab_channel=ChemistryEdinburgh