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Dear all, The final event in the Grant Museum's fantastic Dino-Devotion Series is coming up next week. Moving away from the big scaly (or feathery) beasts from before the meteor struck, we bring our palaeo-passion forward in time to look at the science of ancient DNA and the mighty mammoth. We hope that you can make it. Best wishes Jack Ashby Ice Age Park – the truth about cloning mammoths Thursday 11th December, 6pm Darwin Lecture Theatre, Grant Museum of Zoology, UCL The potential for cloning a dinosaur may still be in the realms of science fiction, but what about reviving a more recently extinct animal? In the world of ancient DNA, woolly mammoths have become the most intensively studied member of the ice age megafauna – a group of large mammals which experienced global extinction around 12 000 years ago. In this talk, Dr Ian Barnes will discuss the nature of this extinction, the contribution that modern molecular genetics has made, and the future potential for recovering the ice age animals. Ian Barnes began his research career studying archaeology, having failed to understand that the Indiana Jones films were not documentaries. Realising this error, he again took career advice from a Steven Spielberg film and moved to working on ancient DNA. Over the last 15 years, he has been involved with many of the key ancient DNA studies of the ice age megafauna, including giant deer, sabre-tooth cats, short-faced bears and woolly mammoths. He is now a molecular palaeobiologist at Royal Holloway, University of London. Following the talk, join us for a free glass of wine in a private view of the Museum. This event is free and there is no need to book. Dino-Devotion Season The Dino-Devotion Season at the Grant Museum explores the people and practices in the strange and exciting world of palaeontology in new and engaging ways. As well as cutting-edge events about new discoveries on recent dino-digs, we will be scrutinising what goes on in the often eccentric mind of a passionate palaeontologist, examining historic dino-lovers as well as the role modern palaeo-pundits play today, and ask why the world is so enamoured with dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasts. What makes dinosaurs so cool, and what does it take to work with them? Through talks, discussions and a classic film, come and discover what’s new in this ancient topic, and investigate the people behind the beasts. The full programme is available at <http://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums/zoology/whats-on#dino>http://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums/zoology/whats-on#<http://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums/zoology/whats-on#dino>dino Learning and Access Manager Grant Museum of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy Darwin Building Department of Biology University College London Gower Street WC1E 6BT Tel:(+44) 020 7679 2647 (Internal ext. 32647) Fax:(+44) 020 7679 7096 Email: [log in to unmask] www.grant.museum.ucl.ac.uk Opening Times: Monday to Friday 1-5pm Group visits (Including: schools, colleges, other universities, special interest groups, researchers, appointments): Monday to Friday 9am-1pm ********************************************************************** 1. To suspend yourself from the list, whilst on leave, for example, send an email to mailto:[log in to unmask] with the following message: set psci-com nomail -- [include hyphens] 2. To resume email from the list, send an email to [log in to unmask] with the message: set psci-com mail -- [include hyphens] 3. To leave psci-com, send an email to [log in to unmask] with the message: leave psci-com -- [include hyphens] 4. Further information about the psci-com discussion list, including list archive, can be found at the list web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/psci-com.html 5. The psci-com gateway to internet resources on science communication and science and society can be found at http://psci-com.ac.uk 6. To contact the Psci-com list owner, please send an email to mailto:[log in to unmask] **********************************************************************